


The Voice of Reason

by Sparkbreaker



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Hostage Situation, Mind Manipulation, Nightmares, Tarn's voice, Torture, bits of romance fluff, fancy robot party, formal dancing, robot gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-11 03:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5611474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparkbreaker/pseuds/Sparkbreaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Windblade has a nightmare after her work-related meeting with Starscream and Rattrap goes badly. She's under a lot of stress from her duties as a Council of Worlds member and the caretaker of Metroplex. But all of that changes when her seemingly random nightmare about a stranger becomes a reality.<br/>Set in the IDW comics world of MTMTE after the Windblade series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Windblade fidgeted a bit as she stood inside Starscream’s meeting room located at the bottom of his personal living quarters. It was painted a bright shade of red, with a shiny, black, metal desk in front of a large, circular window. Windblade could see the sun was setting, and the vibrant colors of sunset made Starscream look imposing standing there in front of his desk. His wings blocked out most of the light from the window coming in, casting a shadow over the room as he continued to talk.  
Starscream crossed his arms across his chest and frowned at them. She was standing next to Rattrap, who looked kind of agitated, but mostly tired. Normally, Starscream wouldn’t call her to come over at the end of the day like this, but he said he had to “get his point across in a more personal way”. And right now, both Windblade and Rattrap were getting an earful of Starscream’s ego telling them they weren’t doing their jobs correctly.

“Rattrap, you were supposed to convince more colonists from Eukaris to come to Cybertron…”

Windblade tuned him out for a moment, thinking about her day at work with Metroplex. He was still using his spare energy searching for other colony worlds out in space, and had located at least two more- but only gave the name of one of the titans in a cryptic message. But before she could do more research, he had lost power in two sections of his lower levels and all her time had to be used to help make repairs. She felt so helpless sometimes, and it only fueled her stress. She longed for the days back on Caminus when she could listen to musical performances or go dancing to help relax…

“…and Windblade, could you please assist Ironhide in learning how to send reports directly to me instead of through you? I would hate to find out you are hiding things from me.” Starscream said in a low tone as he stood directly in front of her, narrowing his bright red optics at her bright blue ones.

“I’m not hiding anything from you.” Windblade said firmly. She slowly clenched her fists. She wasn’t in the mood to argue, but she wasn’t going to let Starscream make false accusations.

“You’d better not be, Cityspeaker. I have an image to maintain to my people, one that involves me knowing what’s going on in this city at all times.” He growled. He had stepped away from Windblade and added, “I intend on gathering the Council of Worlds to hear my latest speech to persuade them to send more colonists to come to Cybertron.”

“But boss, you’ve already had meetins like this and nothin’ ever changes from it.” Rattrap complained with a frown. “What we need is somethin fun to do wit the other Council members. Ya know, somethin that’ll make ’em actually want to come to Cybertron.”

Starscream rolled his optics in disgust.

Windblade perked up and she turned to Rattrap, “Oh!” she said excitedly, “What if we had a public concert that featured some musicians from each colony! Think of it as a welcoming party!”

“But-“ Starscream tried to speak but he was cut off.

“Yeaaah!” Rattrap said, “And maybe we can have some drinks and goodies available too!”

“But my speech is-” Starscream said in an annoyed tone.

“Very important,” Windblade interjected as she waved her hand, “and maybe we could have a costume contest!”

“With some of tha council members as judges!” Rattrap added excitedly.

Starscream scowled and muttered something inaudiable.

“Or perhaps feature some traditional dancing from each colony?” Windblade suggested.

“Heh, if you can find some sexy dames to perform anythin, I’d love to watch some of that!” Rattrap grinned.

“But my speech is the most important part!” Starscream said loudly as he stomped one of his pedes to the floor.

Windblade and Rattrap stopped talking and turned attentively to a very irritated Starscream.

“In fact, I want you and Rattrap to listen to the whole thing- right now!” he growled.

“Aw man, I’m never gonna get home to recharge!” Rattrap muttered. Starscream pretended to ignore him, picked up a small datapad from his desk, and cleared his throat loudly to speak.  
It was the usual boring speech about all the worlds needing each other and how important it is to share resources- blah, blah, blah… Windblade quit paying attention and looked over at Rattrap, who had already nodded off. She had to hold back a laugh as he began to snore. Starscream continued to read from his datapad until Rattrap’s snoring grew louder and Windblade let out a small giggle.

She realized instantly it was a mistake.

Starscream stopped, scowled, and quietly walked over to Rattrap and smacked him hard in the back of his head with the datapad. Windblade gasped in horror as Rattrap fell forward face first.

“Whoa! Wha- what’d I do?!” he said drowsily as he rubbed his head while he was still on the ground.

“Simpleton!” Starscream said angrily as he placed a foot onto his back to pin him down, “Is it too much to ask that you stay awake while you to listen to me?!” and he reached back to hit him again, but Windblade reacted quickly, and dove in with her shoulder to knock Starscream over.

“Gaarhhh!” Starscream shouted as Windblade landed on top of him, her shoulder firmly pinning him down.

“Is it too much to ask that you treat us with some respect?!” Windblade challenged him as she looked down at him. He grunted and pushed her off of himself and sat up.

He pointed at a half-dazed Rattrap, “I’d respect you if you did your job and met all of my demands on time!”

He poked Windblade in the right shoulder, “And I’d respect you if you weren’t an Autobot secretly plotting my downfall!” Starscream snapped back.

“I have NEVER done such a thing!” Windblade shouted as she poked him hard squarely in the chest. “I have only ever offered you my Speaker services, my friendship, and my loyalty to the cause of rebuilding Cybertron, and all you have ever done is lie to me, threaten me, and accuse me of betrayal!” The fans on her wings revved a bit as she balled her digits into fists.

“Then why do you wear the Autobot symbol?!” Starscream sneered as he stood up and looked down at her. “If you’re such a peace loving neutral, why choose a side?”

Windblade stood up from the ground, face to face with Starscream. “Because I believe in Optimus, and the ideas he fights for. He has proven to my people that there is hope for a better future for all of us on Cybertron and the colony worlds. Something you fail to inspire in anyone, including yourself. Don’t you believe in anything else besides the delusions of grandeur in your head?”

Her words had stung him straight to his spark. She stared hard into Starscream’s optics for a moment before she turned and stormed out of the room, out of his home, and onto the street.  
Starscream could only watch her leave in bitter silence as she turned into a jet and flew off into the twilight sky.

***

The dark starry sky filled the large rectangular balcony window next to Windblade’s berth as she laid down to begin her recharge cycle. She could see the twinkling of city lights flicker on her ceiling as she shifted to get comfortable. It so was peaceful and quiet in her room compared to the chaos at work. She was still worried about Metroplex to focus on anything else lately.

Windblade stretched her arms and began to think about Starscream, _He has no compassion for poor Metroplex, and no appreciation for all the hard work that has to be done to fix him. I do my best to work with him, and I’ve tried be-friending him and even playing his little mind games- but in the end, he always makes things more difficult. I don’t hate him, and I don’t know why he feels nothing but contempt for me. Why must he be so terrible to me all the time- why can’t he just compromise with me for the good of the people of Cybertron?!_

And yet, there were moments where he was tolerable toward her. He had saved her life a little while ago on the distant colony world Eukaris, although he killed a titan in the process. She in turn saved his life when they met up with another group of semi-hostile colonists led by Elita 1. It was proof that they could work well together when they needed to.

_Perhaps he has become what he is today because that is how he’s always been treated. If only I could break through that egotistical wall around him- I know there has to be some decency inside him somewhere! Maybe I can get him to put his knowledge to good use instead of scheming, and we could find more common ground to work with each other on…_

She let out a sigh of frustration. At least she could spend tomorrow away from the pompousness of Starscream, and spend time with her best friend instead. Chromia was already asleep in her own room down the hall of the apartment unit they shared, and she knew Chromia was looking forward to their Autobot defense training class in the morning.

 _Ugh_. Windblade thought to herself. _I’d give anything to skip that class tomorrow. I enjoy spending time with Chromia, but why can’t I have music or a dance class instead? I haven’t done anything like that since I left home. Doesn’t anyone on Cybertron understand the need for the arts like my people on Caminus?! Well, I suppose there are a few bots I know who do, but still! Think of all of the enlightening and positive conversations that Cybertronians could be having instead of trying to tear each other apart all the time._

Windblade’s optics fluttered shut as she slipped away into a blissful slumber…

Darkness swirled around her as felt like she was flying over a quiet, well-lit Cybertron. But it looked different- she didn’t recognize what part of the city she was in. Was this the way Cybertron looked in the past, perhaps? She continued onward, but felt drawn to a particularly large, white building with ornate gold carvings on it and a sparkling glass domed roof. She landed gracefully on the bottom of the steps in front of it. As she began to walk up the stairs, she could hear faint music coming from the propped open doors.

She followed the hauntingly eerie tune into the building and was greeted by a tall, pointy-arched hallway with a delicate purple glass chandelier hung from the center, emitting a hazy lavender glow. Several large, grey marble statues were lined up on both sides of the room standing proudly against walls that were a deep hue of royal blue. Although she didn’t recognize who the bots were, their poses were dramatic and imposing enough to give off an air of cultural importance. She couldn’t read what the inscriptions were under their pedestals, it looked like a foreign language full of scribbles to her. She kept walking toward the source of the music- it was beginning to grow louder as she reached the end of the hallway.

A dim blue light washed over her as she stepped into a large, semi-circular shaped amphitheater. There were no spectators in the shadow covered seats. Her footsteps echoed in time to the beat of the music as she headed down a purple carpeted ramp to the stage, where an orange glow of light could be seen. She looked up to the glass dome above the seats as she took a small, silver staircase up to the black stone-polished stage. But what she found on the stage was a battered up Starscream, his arms and legs were strapped to an odd looking chair under a dull orange spotlight coming from the rafters above.

“Starscream, what’s going on?” she asked in a panic. He gave no answer.

Windblade stepped forward and realized he was gagged, and whatever he was saying was muffled. She reached in to remove the gag, but quickly paused as the two huge electrical coils on the chair lit up with a crackle and hummed loudly. Starscream looked up at her in sheer terror, and he gave a muted howl in pain as electricity began surging through his body.

“No! STOP! He doesn’t deserve this!” she shouted, but the voltage only increased and the chair hummed louder.

Windblade let out a scream and jumped back as his whole body jolted up and down repeatedly. Some of the glass on his seeker frame melted, and sparks were flying out of optics. His frame began to smoke under the strain, and chunks of his paint had burned off and floated to the floor in smoldering flakes of ash. As the surge ended, his digits were still twitching as his head slumped down to his chest. Windblade felt disgusted by the scene, and the urgent need to save Starscream. She bent down to unplug the torture device- only to discover there was no plug, cable, or anything powering up the chair at all.

The music crashed louder than ever and Windblade jumped upright and turned around. And there, standing in front of her, was one of the largest mechs she had ever seen. His bottom half was still concealed in shadows, but huge tank treads covered his shoulders- and he a double barreled fusion cannon mounted on his arm. Windblade gasped a bit as she looked up, and straight into his burning red optics. Fear gripped her as she realized she was wasn’t staring into an actual face, but a giant Decepticon symbol- it was as though the faction itself had been forged to life for the sole purpose of raising hell onto all of Cybertron.

“Who are you?” she asked in a small, terrified whisper.

She stood frozen in fear as one of his giant, brutish hand reached toward her and grabbed her by the arm- she tried to turn and thrash away from his grasp, but the giant hunched down a bit and dragged her in close to his frame as though she weighed nothing at all to him.

“LET GO OF ME!” she screamed, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

She was pulled up closer and closer until she was mere inches away from his face. She was trembling as the mech tightened his grip onto both her wrists and held them firmly in place as he leaned in to stare directly into her optics. He turned his head slightly to the side as his optics narrowed- like he was trying to study every detail about her. The music was pounding all around her louder than before, and she could feel her spark beating harder and faster than ever.

“Please,” Windblade softly asked as she met his gaze, “please let me go.”

He said nothing as his grip loosened and she could feel herself falling to the ground-

And then Windblade woke up, lying on the floor next to her berth, flat on her back.

The familiar city lights were reflecting on her ceiling as her optics opened and adjusted to the darkness. She felt cold and disoriented as she stood up.  
So many questions ran through her mind-

_What building was that in my dream? Why was Starscream there being tortured? Who, or what was that monstrous bot?_

  
She managed to get back into her berth, and tried to forget her nightmare and return to sleep... but she couldn’t.

She couldn’t forget how those two fiery-red optics had burned their way deep into her memory forever.


	2. Chapter 2

It was still dark outside as Windblade and Chromia approached the Autobot training facility. It was a bit outdated, but it was one of Chromia’s favorite places on Cybertron. She had been looking forward to an exercise session with her best friend all week. Windblade looked a little bleary eyed and run down, but Chromia guessed it was because of how early in the morning it was. Chromia chose one of the available simulator rooms, and began inputting the scenario she wanted to try out into the wall panel by the door. 

“I know we don’t have a whole lot of time for multiple scenarios, so I’m gonna skip to the one I want to do the most!” Chromia explained.

Windblade stretched and gave a nod. She felt drowsy, but didn’t want to let her friend down by passing on the training session.

“Get ready!” Chromia grinned as the white lights dimmed, and a giant hologram was starting to take shape in front of them. It was a scaled down version of Devastator, which began firing lasers and stomping toward them.

Chromia leapt into action and dodged, ducked, and rolled around- using her axe to take swipes at the giant’s legs. She charged full throttle at the big, surly combiner. Chromia looked flawless as she dove between his legs and took a swipe at his knee from behind. All Windblade could do was stumble and shuffle her way around as the hologram tried to grab at her. This went on for quite awhile, and Chromia was having too much fun to notice how poorly Windblade was doing- until Windblade bent over from feeling dizzy. She was trying to take a break.

She looked up at his angry face, and into his blood red optics. And she felt her circuits freeze.

The memory of her recent nightmare sprang forward into her mind, and she was horrified to see that large, purple-faced demon bot staring at her again. She let out a scream as a giant hand swooped down at her, and felt a whoosh as it passed right through her body. 

A loud buzzer sounded, and the hologram melted away as Windblade was still staring upwards. Chromia frowned, and Windblade looked at her with a sad, apologetic look on her face for a moment. 

“I need to go home.” Windblade said in a rushed, embarrassed tone as she turned and walked out of the room.

***  
The pale pink colors of sunrise had just washed over the streets of Metroplex as Windblade walked out of the old Autobot training facility with Chromia. There were a few bots scuttling out and about, but no one acknowledged Chromia or Windblade as they passed them on the sidewalk. Windblade was walking quickly ahead of Chromia- mostly out of embarrassment that she had ruined the simulator. And she wanted to tell Chromia the truth, but she didn’t know how to bring it up without sounding crazy.

“You need more practice with your defense skills. You’ve grown sloppy and careless since the last time we did this! If those hologram simulators were real, you’d be lying in a med bay in pieces!” Chromia said angrily as she sped up a bit to keep pace with Windblade. And Windblade definitely didn’t want to admit to her friend about her nightmare or her lack of sleep. Those were going to sound like lame excuses for being off on her training game.

“I’m sorry Chromia,” Windblade said in a rushed tone, “I don’t have much spare time for fighting lessons anymore. I’m a Council of Worlds ambassador and I’m still the main bot who takes care of Metroplex. Those things come first.”

Chromia firmly placed her palm onto Windblade’s shoulder and stopped her for a moment.  
“The health and safety of my best friend comes first.” Chromia said sternly. “I wish I could always be there to protect you when you go off on your Council duties or wherever Starscream sends you- but I can’t, and it worries me.”

Windblade smiled politely back at her. “Don’t worry Chromia, there is nothing that I can’t handle."

“No Windblade!” Chromia said in a loud, angry tone, “One day you’re going to run into a bot who’s bigger, badder, and more powerful than you’ll ever be- and what are you gonna do to defend yourself, talk your way out of it by trying to calm him down?!” 

“Well, actually, last night I dreamed-” Windblade started but Chromia cut her off.

“NO!” Chromia shouted and had put both of her hands on Windblade’s shoulders. She shook her a bit as she shouted in a shrill tone, “Your Speaker skills can’t save you from being pummeled into the pavement by a raging psychopath! How do you think I would feel if my best and only friend died and I knew it was because I wasn’t there to save her when I could have! I couldn’t live with that kind of guilt!” 

She looked away and loosened her grip a bit and sighed, “You’re more than just my best friend, you are family to me, and you’re all I have left in this world. Without having to protect you, what do I have to live for?!” Chromia’s face was a mixture of concern and fear as she looked downward at the ground. 

Windblade could feel how upset she was, so she leaned in and hugged her tightly. 

“Chromia,” she said quietly, “I’m so sorry for making you feel this way. I am not ignoring my training to upset you on purpose. We both know we are here to help Cybertron rebuild into something bigger and better for everyone. If I do not put my duties to serve others first, I will become as self-centered as Starscream. I will not allow that to happen to myself when Optimus and the Autobots are counting on me to remain strong to our cause. You are the only link to Caminus I have here, and I have always considered you to be my best friend and a sister. Nothing will ever change that.” Windblade patted her on the back a few times and then let go of the embrace to step back to face her before she continued to speak.

“And I worry about you too. You need friends to talk to and be with besides me all the time. That way, when I’m gone on off-world missions you won’t feel so worried about me. This planet is full of interesting new bots to meet… and I know just the mech you should go and chat with right now!” Windblade grinned. Suddenly, going home sounded like a boring idea anyway.

“Wait, if it’s who I think it is- no. No! I don’t want him to see me like this!” Chromia hissed as she gestured to her herself. She looked a bit upset in the face, but other than that she looked like her usual self.

“Oh please,” Windblade said, “Just put a nice smile on, and he’ll be happy to have some company.”

“But- but you know I haven’t really spoken to him much since I’ve met him.” Chromia said nervously. “What if he hates everything I say? Or ignores me altogether?”

“Why Chromia!” Windblade said in a slightly mocking tone as she crossed her arms, “You sound as though you’re afraid of him.”

“I am not!” Chromia huffed. “I simply don’t know what I would discuss with him that he would find interesting.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Windblade stared at Chromia, blocking her way, “Because two warrior type bots with years of fighting experience who have identical political views and who also share a passion for exploration couldn’t possibly have anything in common to talk about.”

Chromia looked at the ground sheepishly. “I just don’t want to make a fool of myself. Or come off as a grumpy glitch. I know what the other Autobots think of me, and that’s why it’s difficult for me to make friends.” Windblade felt terrible for her friend. She wished her job wasn’t so demanding, so she could help Chromia with her social issues on Cybertron. 

“And you know that this mech is different from the rest of them,” Windblade said. “because if he was a narrow-minded fool, Optimus Prime wouldn’t consider him to be one of his closest friends.”

Chromia sighed. She knew her best friend was right. “Well, what have I got to lose?” 

“Well nothing really,” Windblade said “except maybe a few shanix- because the last one to Maccadam’s is buying the drinks!” she said as she spun around and started running ahead.

Chromia looked up and smiled a bit before taking off after her.


	3. Chapter 3

A lone figure was hunched over sadly at the bar inside Maccadam’s. He swished his drink around in his glass hand before taking a swig. 

Ironhide was contemplating life again. 

He had been patrolling through abandoned lower sections of Metroplex all night. He enjoyed his job- mapping out passageways and exploring secret chambers- but the truth was, he was lonely. 

Oh, he had other bots to talk to on a daily basis. He always reported his findings to Windblade (because he refused to send his reports directly to Starscream.) He trusted Windblade’s judgement on what they knew about Metroplex versus what they informed Starscream of. She genuinely was his friend, and he knew she’d listen to anything he’d say, but she was always so kind and sweet natured, he didn’t want to scare her off by telling her about the hells of war he’d lived through. He would stop by Wheeljack for tech advice or for new equipment every week, and sometimes they would chat casually, but it wasn’t the same to Ironhide. 

He missed Optimus, or Orion, or whatever Prime was calling himself nowadays. He missed sharing brutal war stories and just going out for a drive under the stars with his Autobot brothers in arms. Life on Cybertron just wasn’t exciting anymore, and Ironhide was beginning to wonder if he was destined for a dull fate like this every day for eternity, forever feeling alone. He brought his drink up to his face to take a sip, when he thought he heard his name.

“Ironhide!” a familiar gentle voice called out. He looked up toward the door to see Windblade walk in with a warm smile on her face. Behind her was the fierce bodyguard, Chromia… who was also smiling, for once. Ironhide took a double look, and noted that her normally harsh facial expressions looked much more soft and kind when she smiled. The light from the door made her blue paint shine a bit more brilliant than usual, and his gaze followed her as she stood silently behind Windblade.

“Hello kid- how’re ya doin?” Ironhide said warmly to Windblade. He knew his voice sounded a bit crackly and rough from not talking all day or night to anyone, and he was slightly embarrassed. He cleared his throat a bit and spoke again, this time to Chromia.

“Hello again Chromia, it sure is nice seein you this morning.” He said. 

“It’s, um, nice to meet you again, Ironhide.” She stammered quickly. Her cheeks flushed a pale pink as her gaze met his.

“I just finished some defense training with Chromia, in which I failed miserably.” Windblade said as she laughed a bit to help break the silence, “And we could use some good company and a drink to cheer us both up.”

“Well then, you came to the right place!” Blurr said happily as he suddenly popped up from under the counter, “And what beverage can I get for you fine young femmes today?” he asked with a gorgeous grin as he set two empty glasses up on the countertop. 

“Just something strong and on the rocks, please.” Chromia said quietly.

“Heh,” Ironhide chuckled, “That’s the first thing I always wanted after a rough day of Autobot training.” Ironhide said as he took a drink. Windblade gestured for Chromia to sit down next to Ironhide’s right, and Blurr poured Chromia’s drink quickly, and gave Ironhide a refill.

“I just don’t care much for fancy mixed drinks, or expensive high grade energon.” Chromia said as she picked up her glass, “I’m a keep-it-simple kind of gal, I guess.”

“Nothin’ wrong with that.” Ironhide said as he winked and he raised his glass to Chromia’s in a toast and took a drink. Chromia watched him with an odd mix of admiration and intrigue on her face before taking a sip on her drink. Windblade sighed and sat down on the left side of Ironhide, and was still debating her drink choices.

“Now I know you’ll give me a chance to challenge my energon mixing skills.” Blurr said slyly as he leaned over to Windblade. “You always impress me with your creative and unique requests.”   
But before Windblade could answer, Rattrap burst into the bar and stomped his way over to Windblade.

“Hey lady, the boss has sent me lookin for you all morning! Where the heck have you been- would it kill you to answer your comlink calls?!”

“That rodent is nothin but trouble with two little t’s.” Ironhide muttered. Chromia stifled a giggle as she took a sip from her glass.

Windblade stood and took a step forward to speak to the little bot. “I’m sorry Rattrap, I turned off my comm while I was in training classes this morning and never turned it back on. My apologies to you.” Her voice was calm, but firm.

“Yeah, yeah, a likely story missy.” Rattrap retorted, “Look, you know I wouldn’t bug ya on your day off unless it was important- which it is.”

“Lemme guess, did Starscream offend half the universe again and need Windblade to apologize for him?” Ironhide said brazenly as he finished his drink. “Cause I’m sick of the way he treats my friend every time she tries to have a moment’s peace to herself!” he finished as he slammed the empty glass down on the counter.

“Eh, no-“ Rattrap said nervously as he shrugged, “I hope not, he didn’t really say why.”

“It’s okay guys,” Windblade said hurridly, “I’ll take care of whatever the issue is and catch up to you later.” She turned to wave at her friends as she followed Rattrap out the door, “You two go enjoy yourselves for the day!” 

“But you just got here!” Blurr quietly protested as the door shut behind her. 

“Aw she’ll be back later buddy,” Ironhide said, “I bet it’s just boring stuff Starscream wants to nitpick about. She’s the only being who will even listen to him anymore.” 

“Starscream makes my circuits burn, the way he treats Windblade.” Chromia said as she stared at her drink for a moment. 

“Me too,” Ironhide said as he patted Chromia’s shoulder and she looked him square in the optics. “That kid, she’s like family to me. I’d gladly punch that scum-suckin’ Con into the ground. But I don’t ‘cause I don’t wanna let Optimus down. I promised him I’d do my best to maintain peace on Cybertron. And I believe in that vision he and Windblade have for our world.”

Chromia smiled. She was glad Windblade talked her into drinking with Ironhide. They really did have a lot in common.  
“And hey, someday he’ll get his aft kicked.” Ironhide said as he turned back toward Blurr for another drink. “There’s a lot of bots out there who hate him, and for good reason too. I’m just surprised he’s never been on the List. For as many times as he tried to snuff Megatron’s spark, you’d think he would’ve been the DJD’s top priority.” 

“He’d find a loophole out of it, I’m sure!” Blurr snorted, “Or he’d say the DJD made a mistake!” Blurr laughed and cleared his throat to sound screechy like Starscream as he said, “Oh, but surely you have the wrong mech- I’m not Starscream, I’m just a Seeker painted like him! Maybe mighty Megatron knows where the real Starscream is!”   
Ironhide and Blurr roared with laughter as Chromia sat there frowning.

“I don’t get it.” She said. The guys quit laughing abruptly.

“What’s not to get?” Blurr asked quizzically. “The DJD never make mistakes. Starscream would be dead in two minutes if he were on their List.”

“She don’t know who the DJD are.” Ironhide said. “And she don’t know what Cons were really like under Megatron’s command.”

“I’d like to know all about it,” Chromia said with a smile, “if you told it to me, Ironhide.”


	4. Chapter 4

The darkness of space enveloped the Peaceful Tyranny as it hovered behind a small, barren moon somewhere in the Galactic Rim.

Inside the ship, a towering, purple-plated mech was sitting on the edge of a bench just outside the door of the med bay. The tank treads on his massive shoulders shifted a bit as he waited patiently for the ship’s medical officer, Nickel, to call him in. He had been waiting quietly by himself while Nickel prepped the room for his usual T-cog replacement surgery.

 Normally, Tarn would be regaling her with the twisted tales of torture he inflicted on his latest victim as he watched her prep the room. But for the first time ever, he wasn’t quite sure what to tell Nickel. The leader of the Decepticon Justice Division was suffering from a lack of a decent recharge. Not that he desperately needed the energy; he could easily get a boost from one of his favorite addictions if he really needed it.

 Clearly he was fine enough earlier in the day when he and the other D.J.D members hunted down yet another pathetic deserter who was nearby. Although, he made a mental note that he really should have been more alert out in the field hunting- his taunting monologue ended up giving the D.J.D’s latest victim enough time to put a deep gash in his arm, and a few scratches on his chest-plate before he was promptly subdued. He knew Nickel would not be pleased to see his other injuries on top of having to perform the T-cog replacement surgery.

 No, it was not his lack of energy that troubled him. Tarn’s thoughts were preoccupied with his dream that had gone awry from the night before- he didn’t have a chance to analyze it until just now. He decided to close his optics underneath his menacing purple Decepticon mask to recall what he could and try to make sense of what happened. A few details stuck out in his mind- the thrill of capturing and torturing Starscream was clearly the highlight. He enjoyed seeing that arrogant Seeker’s smug face turn into a look of agonizing pain and utter defeat. After all, Starscream always was a backstabbing pain in the aft that fully deserved the wrath of the D.J.D., and Tarn had always personally hated Starscream back in the glory days of the war. But what had ruined the dream was when some unknown femme tried to intervene on Starscream’s behalf, and then caused the dream to end. Even more damning was the fact he did not recognize her.

 He let out an agitated sigh and concentrated harder about details from the dream…She had a small, red and black Seeker-type frame, and a golden fan-shaped piece on her head. But never in his travels had he seen a femme with such odd facial markings- a stark white face with a bright blood-red pattern painted around her wide, light-blue optics.

_That face has been haunting my mind all day._ Tarn thought.

 It was true. Her face had cropped up into his mind as he was directing his team while they were on a mission, and he did his best to push the memory of the dream away. Tarn tried to remember other details about the nameless femme to give him clues to her identity. Her voice certainly had an odd effect on him. When she spoke directly to him, he felt compelled to listen to her pleading and let her go. Tarn wondered if she had special voice abilities similar to his own. The thought of that made him uncomfortable, to say the least.

“Tarn!” the medic bot called out in her slightly sassy tone. “C’mon in you big lug- I haven’t got all day!”

His red optics opened up and he jolted awake again. His thoughts about the mysterious femme were still heavy on his mind as he shuffled into the med bay and plopped down hard on the operating berth. The whole floor shook with a loud rumble. Nickel tripped over, and had to catch the tray full of tools she was holding while lying on the floor.

“Dammit, Tarn!” the teal little femme grouched as she got up. “Warn somebody before you decide to cause an earthquake!”

Tarn mumbled a half-hearted apology as Nickel hopped up onto a step stool to operate. She gave him a look of concern and sighed. “You’ve been acting odd all day. Something is clearly troubling you.”

“I do not wish to talk about it.” Tarn rumbled in a low voice as he turned his head away from her.

Nickel gave an angry “Hmmpf!” and slammed down her tools on the table next to the berth. “Then let’s talk about why you clearly did not fully recharge last night! Because you and I both know you get careless out in the field and grumpy toward everyone when you aren’t rested!”

“Is that what explains your constant grumpiness?” He asked slyly as he turned his head back to her. He was thankful he had a mask on so that Nickel couldn’t see him smiling at his remark.

Nickel, however, did not find the question amusing, and she reached down to grab his arm right where his open gash was still leaking out from. Tarn gave a slight growl at being grabbed at a tender open wound.

“Because when you get careless, slag like this happens- and I end up having to do extra work!” she huffed as she began to weld his gash shut. “It’s bad enough I have to deal with the dumb injuries Helex and Tess come home with- but I expect you to take better care of yourself!”

 Tarn silently watched her work her medical magic on fixing his arm. She was a gifted medic, even if her bedside manner wasn’t the most pleasant. Finally, he felt the need to speak up to the little minibot. “I am forever grateful that I have you to take care of my… little mishaps out in the field. You are the best medic I have ever had on this ship, and you have worked wonders for everyone’s wounds ever since you became a part of the team.”

Nickel smiled a bit at the compliment as she finished up patching his arm. “Tarn, flattery does not excuse stupidity.” She looked at his chest plate scratches and sighed. “Did it ever occur to you that the rest of us need you permanently in one piece as our leader? Sure, today you only had a deep cut and scratches- but what about next time? Will you come home with your arms gone- or your body cut in half?”

“Nickel, I doubt that-”

“Tarn!” the little medic said sharply as she looked at him straight in the optics. “You know I worry about how you let yourself go during these hunts, and I’m not out there to give you or the others immediate aid. How do you think I would feel if your actions caused you to be on the brink of death and I couldn’t fix you in time?! You and the others could be dead, and I would be all alone in the universe again!”

“Nickel…” Tarn trailed off in a soft voice to her as she turned away from him and started putting her tools in a bucket to clean them. The heavy silence was suddenly broken by the med bay door bursting open and Kaon running in with a datapad.

“Sir,” the optic-less communications officer said in a rushed tone, “It seems while we’ve been away on our missions, some, er- interesting events have taken place on Cybertron.” He handed Tarn a datapad that showed him a video feed of Starscream with his crown and cape on, talking on a stand in front of a large crowd. He was smiling and waving, and Optimus was shaking his hand and congratulating him on becoming king. Tarn looked at the date in the corner of the video- it was several months ago! Tarn felt a surge of anger and hatred rise up inside of him.

“That filthy little TRAITOR!” Tarn’s optics flared in anger as he roared. “How DARE he give up on the Decepticon cause and sell out to the Autobots! Just so he can pretend he rules Cybertron?! He is ignorant to believe that he has any real power over the citizens of Cybertron. No- he is merely a puppet to Optimus Prime- that fool Starscream has destroyed everything we Decepticons have fought for under Megatron’s guidance!” Tarn stood up and crushed the datapad with one clench of his hand.

“I will personally hunt him down and make him pay for ALL of his betrayals!” Tarn rumbled as he left the remnants of the datapad hit the floor.

“Tarn,” Kaon said quietly, “there’s more to it than that. Starscream has found a way to find lost colonies of other Cybertronians. He has formed a Council of Worlds that encourages trade and travel amongst each other. But not all of the colonies have been found yet, and many survivors of other colonies have recently made Cybertron their home. All of his recent speeches indicate he’s still searching for the remaining colonies to bring all of them ‘home’ to unite as one.” Nickel let out a gasp and Tarn glanced over at her.

“LIES!” Tarn shouted. “He doesn’t care about the well-being of those colonies or for taking care of Cybertron- he only wants power! Well, he must not be allowed to grow this false empire of his.” Tarn started to walk toward the medbay doors.

“But Tarn,” Nickel called out, “I still need to replace your t-cog!”

He turned to face the little medic. “I will be back shortly after I inform the rest of the team about our new directive- our next name on the List is now Starscream, and our next stop is Cybertron. If we move fast enough, we can reach it by tomorrow night.”

Nickel looked at him with a mix of worry and fear as he stormed out of the medbay with Kaon.

*****


	5. Chapter 5

Windblade and Rattrap were jostling their way through the crowd on the sidewalk as they headed toward Starscream’s headquarters. They reached an intersection, and had to stop to wait for the crosswalk light to change.

“Thanks for standin up to Starscream last night.” Rattrap said quietly. Windblade turned and gave him a small smile. She wanted to say how much she pitied Rattrap sometimes, but instead she replied, “He should give everyone a bit more respect. Our opinions count just as much as his.”

“Yeah well, after you left last night he got real quiet and then said he’d ‘think about’ our ideas for the Council meetin.” Rattrap said. “Honestly, I thought he was gonna beat the scrap outta me, but I think he was so shocked by what you said, he forgot.”

The light changed and they crossed the street and turned the next corner quickly. She could see Rattrap seemed a bit tired- he wasn’t keeping up with her brisk steps. “It would be faster if I used my jet mode to get both of us there.” She said politely.

“It’s okay,” Rattrap panted, “I just didn’t recharge well last night.”

“Neither did I.” Windblade said solemnly.

“It must be our nerves.” Rattrap said, “Workin’ for Starscream is fryin’ both of our circuits to the edge.” Windblade let out a small laugh as they continued down the road toward their destination. When they reached Starscream’s home, Windblade started walking toward their usual meeting room. Rattrap tapped her on the arm.

“Sorry Windblade, but we’re goin’ upstairs. Starscream says he wants to talk on his balcony today.”

Windblade looked concerned for a moment. “Are you sure it’s just a ‘talk’ and not a assassination attempt?”

“I certainly hope not!” Rattrap replied. “But, eh, if he throws me over the balcony in a fit of rage I’ll make sure to leave one hell of an ugly stain on his doorstep.” He grinned and motioned her toward the elevator outside the meeting room.

“But then he’d make me clean it up as punishment.” Windblade added with a sly smile as she stepped inside the lift. Rattrap paused with a surprised smile on his face and then he laughed hard as he entered the elevator to go up.

***

 

The silver door to the upper floor slid open silently as Windblade and Rattrap walked into Starscream’s personal quarters. Windblade had never been up there before. The main lounge room was one big open floorplan, except a small room to the side that had a kitchen area. The walls were painted a deep midnight blue, with sleek silver curved seats and glass side tables. There was even a small bar with two sparkling glass stools, but Windblade didn’t have any more time to look around. She was being led straight ahead to the large white balcony doors that were propped open.

“Hey boss- Can I stay inside and get a drink?” Rattrap asked, “I’m dyin of thirst from all that walkin I did.” He casually strolled into the kitchen.

“Yes, that’s fine.” Starscream replied as he turned around. “Ah, Windblade- there you are! I am so pleased you could join me today.” He said in a smooth tone as he placed his arm around her, welcoming her out onto his balcony.

“Hello Starscream.” Windblade said calmly as she looked at him. She was hoping her calm manner would help keep the conversation civil, and more importantly keep it non-violent.

“Oh Windblade, I was so worried about you.” Starscream said, “I called you several times with no answer and no other way of reaching you. I only sent Rattrap out to find you because, contrary to what you believe, I do have concern about the well-being of my favorite Council member…” Starscream said as he stepped in front of her, using his arm already behind her to quickly pull her in close to him. Her hands landed against his chest plate and she felt embarrassed.

“Ss-Starscream!” Windblade stammered, “This is very unusual behavior for you- are you feeling alright?”

“Now that you’re here I feel better.” He replied as he embraced her. “Last night was terrible. I couldn’t recharge at all.” Windblade froze. His light red optics met with her deep blue ones for a moment before he continued, “I thought you would never speak to me again after you left me last night. The thought of that just made my spark ache with sadness.”

Windblade felt flustered and blushed a deep rosy color. She spoke in a softer tone, hoping to sound as sincere as she felt. “I would never ignore you. I, um, I do have respect for you, especially as the leader of Cybertron. I was just really angry at how you were treating Rattrap...”

“Of course,” he said slowly. “And perhaps you can pardon my rigidness at yesterday’s meeting. After you left me, I realized that you and Rattrap were right. There needs to be something that would generate a positive buzz about Cybertron amongst the other Council members. So, after our meeting yesterday, I decided to incorporate some of your little ‘suggestions’ into a private, invitation-only celebration.” Windblade turned her head to the side a bit with a quizzical look on her face. Starscream gave a slick smile and edged closer to her face while speaking. He knew her curiosity would let him explain his grand idea completely without interruption.

“I am inviting a select few Cybertronians to come and mingle with the Council members. I want it to happen tomorrow night to coincide with the full glow of the harvest moon. I already have the perfect location selected for the event, and the approximate time of when it will begin and end. I admit I have already taken care of delegating someone to arranging music and that dancing will take place, but I welcome your advice in regards to all the details involving attire, entertainment, and anything else you see fit.”

_Is he serious about this?!_ Windblade thought to herself as her mouth fell open in surprise.

“I do, however, expect you to be standing next to me during my speech. I also expect you to be my dance partner to lead the first dance of the evening, and I expect your presence next to me whenever I demand it.” Starscream smirked as he continued, “In return, I will allow you to invite up to three guests to help you feel more… comfortable at the event when you are not needed.” He already knew who two of her guests would probably be, but he wanted her to think he was being generous.

_Sweet Solus Prime, he is serious about this!_ Windblade thought as she blankly stared at him. She tried to formulate words that sounded intelligent but she was in still in a pleasant shock over the whole idea of going to a formal party- even if it was going to be with Starscream, but still...

“Um, that sounds wonderful. I, I really like it- I mean, um, I- I love it actually-”

Starscream reached up and placed a single digit in front of her lips to stop her from saying anything more. He leaned toward her neck and whispered, “I’ll take that as a yes to any and all of my requests in regards to this event.” Starscream gave a wicked grin as he slowly dragged the digit down and away from her lips. He knew he had her right where he wanted her. She was so excited at the idea she could bring along her friends to a party filled with music and dancing, she didn’t fully realize what she had just agreed to.

“Well then, let’s get started! Can you tell me where it will take place?” she asked excitedly.

“But of course!” Starscream said as he walked back inside, “Let me inform Rattrap on where I’m going, and I will take you to the location myself. Enjoy the view up here for a few moments until I’m done.”

Windblade took Starscream’s advice and stepped up to the railing and looked out. The view was incredible and peaceful too. She closed her optics for a moment and felt a gentle breeze wash over her helm.

_Maybe Starscream finally had a change of spark._  Windblade thought. 

***

Starscream hurried into the kitchen while Windblade’s back was turned. He slid in while watching her- she was still staring up at the clouds.

“Smooth moves out there, boss. You think she bought all that scrap about you being worried and you caring about her?” Rattrap quipped as Starscream took one last glance to make sure Windblade wasn’t watching him. 

“Yes, well, let’s hope so.” Starscream said slyly as he opened a bottle of high grade on the counter and drank a large portion of it quickly. “I need her to be convinced I care about her so she will help make this event a noteworthy occasion."

"But why go through all this extra acting to convince Windblade?" Rattrap asked.  


"It's simple," Starscream said, "she's lonely, naiive, and very vulnerable. I can toy with her emotions and get her to put forth her best work because she thinks it will please and impress me."

"She already does her best at everything you ask her to do!" Rattrap muttered.

Starscream ignored the comment and continued talking.  "Look, Cybertron hasn’t held a formal event like this in eons- think of how much publicity I will get and how favorable I will be in the public eye after this!” Starscream grinned wildly as he continued, "And just think of how much respect and admiration that will be bestowed upon me- I will go down in history as the greatest King of Cybertron!"

“Starscream,” Rattrap said frowning, “I don’t like you leading her on like that. I think Windblade would’ve helped you whether or not you were flirting with her.”

Starscream looked at him in disgust. “If I wanted your opinion about how to treat a femme, I would ask.” He spat. 

“Besides,” he said as he drank the last bit of the bottle and placed it on the counter. “Deep down, I bet she hates me. Everyone does.” 

And with that, he left the room and strode back out onto the balcony.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I went back and edited the very last part of Chapter 5 because the dialogue felt wrong to me. I want Starscream to sound very much like himself in the current Transformers/Windblade comics- someone who is full of self-doubts even though he acts like he’s perfect. That, and calling Windblade a “silly femme” and talking about how he charms all the lady-bots just sounded kinda dumb. So if you haven't checked out the very last few lines in ch.5 in awhile- you should ;) *

Windblade was watching clouds roll past on Starscream’s balcony. Every now and then, a jet or some other small freighter could be seen shuttling off into the sky somewhere. It was breathtaking to see a calm Cybertron basking in the glow of the afternoon sun.

_I wonder where Starscream plans on having this celebration at. What building around here could possibly be large enough to hold that kind of an event?_   Windblade thought as she closed her optics for a minute to enjoy the gentle breeze blow against her wings.

But as soon as she closed her optics, all she could see was two blood-red optics staring at her from behind that familiar frightening purple mask. A large hand with clawed digits was reaching out to her- trying to grab her. Her digits started to shake a bit, and she grabbed the balcony railing tightly to steady herself.

_Why do I keep seeing this monster every time I try to relax?!_   She thought frantically to herself as her blue optics were filled with panic. She was so caught up in her own thoughts, she didn’t even hear Starscream step up behind her.

“Ready to fly with me?” he whispered into the back of her neck.

Windblade jumped a bit and turned her head to the side to look at Starscream, who flashed a sly smile at her reaction.

“Oh Starscream! Um, y-yes.” She stammered. “Please lead the way.” She hoped he didn’t see how embarrassed she was at being so easily startled.

“With pleasure.” The Seeker quipped as he gracefully transformed into his sleek jet mode. Windblade followed suit and the two of them took off into the clouds, flying over buildings she swore she had seen somewhere before, but perhaps it was only in a dream.

***

 Back at Maccadam’s, Chromia wasn’t sure what was more disgusting- learning all about the unspeakable horrors committed by the DJD, or seeing the total of her bar tab after drinking away part of the day with Ironhide.

“Aw, Chromia- don’t worry ‘bout it.” Ironhide said as he placed his servo on top of the tab printout. “I got this. Your company really cheered me up today.”

Chromia gave a small smile as she placed her hand on top of Ironhide’s. “But it’s only proper of me to pay for some of this. I didn’t intend to drink quite this much.”

Ironhide gave a drunken half-smile as Blurr pulled the tab printout out from under their servos. “You guys can pay me later on today. Windblade just messaged me that she wants to meet the three of us here after she’s done working with Starscream. She has news to tell us, and that she’ll be here just after sunset.”

“That’s mighty nice of you, Blurr.” Ironhide said as he slowly stood up. “I promise we’ll come back.”

“You always do, my friend.” Blurr replied with a smile as he cleared away their empty glasses.

Ironhide turned to Chromia and held out an open servo. “Would you like to finish your fight training simulator thingy with me until it’s time to meet up with Windblade? I need to take out my frustrations from my job on some dirty old ‘Cons.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Chromia replied with a wide grin as she placed the palm of her servo into his and grasped tightly as Ironhide helped her out of her seat. They both walked out of the bar and onto the sidewalk, still holding their hands tightly.

***

Flying with Starscream was something Windblade didn’t expect to enjoy. He flew at a slightly faster pace than what she would’ve deemed comfortable- but then again, it was thrilling to unexpectedly dive, twist, and turn between buildings and over bridges in order to keep up with him. She figured Starscream was trying to test her flight skills, but the view they had along the way was stunning.

“Windblade, are you enjoying the flight so far?” Starscream asked.

“Of course.” She replied. “It always feels exciting to explore a new region of Cybertron.”

“I didn’t realize you enjoy sight-seeing on Cybertron so much.” Starscream said as he slowed down a bit to fly side by side with her.

“I love it here!” Windblade gushed. “One moment there’s an endless rocky plain, a sea of rust, then next there’s huge mountains- beyond that there’s a canyon with a river of lava running through it- and last week I found a cavern down in that same canyon! The surprises never cease to amaze me. And the cities! Oh I wish I could have seen them before the war.”

“I wish you could have seen them too.” Starscream agreed. “This planet truly is beautiful. Our cities will be magnificent once again under my direction- you’ll see.” He said confidently. “Any final thoughts about the event for tomorrow night?” he asked in a somewhat pleasant manner.

“Well, I have a few things I was thinking over.” She replied in a hopeful tone.

“We still have a bit further to travel." Starscream explained, " I have plenty of time to hear them along the way.”

 They both quickly ruled out having a costume contest but agreed upon encouraging everyone invited to look their best. Each of the colonies had already submitted their best musician or actor for entertainment, and Windblade agreed to ask Blurr to be the bartender for the evening. It felt relaxing to be able to talk to Starscream about things besides their usual work-related topics. He really could be a civil and social mech when he wanted to. She was beginning to wish the flight would never end.

 On the other hand, she was getting more and more anxious about where they were headed. She was doing her best to mentally map out her surroundings so she would be able to find her way back on her own. This part of Cybertron was crowded with lots of tall spires and buildings that all looked way too similar to each other. It was like an endless maze of glass and metal. She watched Starscream do a double loop-de-loop in between a sea of tall towers before diving straight down in a spinning spiral and transforming just before making a perfect landing on his own two pedes. A huge smirk was on his face as he looked back up at Windblade.

_Show off!_ Windblade thought as she made a small, elegant loop and a quick dive to the ground. She gracefully transformed before she landed next to Starscream- giving a polite smile to him.

“We’re almost there.” He said with a nod.

“Why didn’t we just fly all the way there?” Windblade asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Because I wanted to show you the view that everyone will see from street level as they drive down the road.” He explained. “Many of our guests have ground-based vehicle modes. I want your opinion of the venue from the point of view that they’ll be seeing.”

“Oh. That’s very clever of you, Starscream.” Windblade said as she hustled to match his walking pace. She noticed this part of Cybertron was less inhabited and quieter than Metroplex. They were the only bots walking about on the sidewalk. 

“I don’t recognize this area. Where are we?” Windblade asked.

“This is an older part of Cybertron.” He explained. “I used to walk these streets back before I was a Decepticon. There’s a special building around here that hasn’t been used in so long, I thought it was destroyed- but no, it’s still here.”

“There was a time when you weren’t a Decepticon?” Windblade asked incredulously.

“Of course there was.” Starscream said as he turned his head toward her, “I remember Cybertron before the war started. In fact, I was there at the beginning of it- alongside Soundwave... and a few others.” He trailed off in a quiet tone.

“What did you do before all that? Before the war?” she asked in earnest.

“Oh, nothing that would interest you.” Starscream said quickly. “Ah! Just a quick turn around the corner and we’ll be there!” Starscream said as he turned to the right sharply. Windblade turned the corner of the building and gasped.

 There, in front of her, basking in the late afternoon sun, stood a large, white building with ornate gold carvings on it and a sparkling glass domed roof. There were a few bots scuttling in, out, and about with cleaning supplies and ladders as two bots outside were hanging a welcome banner above the doors.

_The building from my dream- it is real!_ Windblade thought to herself. She stood there stunned.

“I gather the beauty of the building took your breath away?” Starscream said with a grin.

“It is pretty grand.” She replied as a chill ran down her back. “I’m impressed.”

“You should be. It’s the largest theatre on Cybertron. All of our greatest musicians, actors, poets- they’ve all performed here.” He replied with pride as he gently tapped her on the shoulder to follow him inside.

“I didn’t know Cybertron had all of those things. Back on Caminus, we have a huge respect for the arts. Music and poetry were always my favorites- I was never good at sculpting or making things, but-” Windblade murmured. “I certainly wouldn’t have ever expected you to be interested in the arts.”

“Pffft,” Starscream scoffed, “Not the poetry part. I do appreciate good music, and watching plays- but you’d never catch me reading poetry. I’d rather have my optics gouged out.”

“But wasn’t Megatron one of the greatest poets of your generation?” Windblade blurted out.

“Ugh,” Starscream said in disdain as he rolled his optics, “he was, but I never read any of it. Only his most disgustingly die-hard, devoted fanboy studied that garbage day and night.”

Windblade instantly thought Starscream was putting down Soundwave. Even though she had only met Soundwave for a brief moment, she could tell that he and Starscream still held some respect for each other when he introduced them to each other. It seemed like a harsh thing for Starscream to say about him.

“How could you insult Soundwave like that?” Windblade asked in a confused tone.

“I wasn’t referring to Soundwave.” Starscream said with a smirk as they started walking up the steps to the door.

 Windblade didn’t have time to inquire about who Starscream was referring to. The moment they reached inside the door, Starscream was busy snapping off at a bot who kept trying to stop him and ask questions. Windblade recognized him as Circuit- a reporter who had previously helped her during a huge misunderstanding with Starscream and Chromia.

“Rattrap invited me to do a report on tomorrow night’s big event! The public will want to see your speech televised and- and, oh- I want exclusive access to interview the Council members...” The smaller bot continued to rattle on as Starscream gritted his teeth. He was clearly annoyed by Circuit. Windblade held back a small giggle at seeing the irritation building up on his face.

“If there’s going to be a bar set up somewhere, will you be putting a limit on what we can drink? Also, what sort of ‘entertainment’ was Rattrap talking about- and, is there really going to be a costume contest?”

Circuit’s questions were relentless.

“When Windblade and I are done with our practice session, I will answer all your questions and present you with an exclusive press pass.” He growled as he shooed the little reporter out of their way. “Now please leave us alone for a while so we can have some privacy!”

“Yes sir!” Circuit said happily as he went outside. “I’m going to go interview some of the bots helping with event set-up.”

“Practice session?” Windblade asked curiously as she glanced over at Starscream who was still scowling at the little bot.

“Oh,” he said as he quickly composed himself and turned his face to Windblade with a charming smile. “I thought we could have a quick practice for our dance tomorrow night. I want to make sure you and I look perfect in front of everyone.” He said as he turned his face forward and kept walking forward. “I forgot my cape to practice with, but it shouldn’t get in the way tomorrow night. I was thinking you should wear one too, but in blue...”

 Windblade noticed she was travelling down the same hallway from her dream, and began to tune out Starscream so she could get a better look around. Those statues looked even more imposing in real life. She wondered if any of them were poets or musicians.

“Windblade,” he said sharply with a slight frown on his chiseled face. “You weren’t listening to me.”

“Oh sorry,” she said quickly, “I was admiring how beautiful it is in here. It reminds me so much of my favorite theatre back on Caminus.”

“Yes, well, perhaps someday you can hold an event on your home-world and invite me.” Starscream said curtly as they reached the room with the domed roof.

 The sun was just beginning to set, and the bold orange rays of light beaming in cast a warm glow onto the floor. All the normal amphitheater chairs were removed, and it made the room look even larger. There was a makeshift bar and a few rows of small tables and seats set up along the walls, and a few instruments were on stage along with some amplifying speakers.

“The entire floor is flat. It wasn’t like that before.” Windblade noted aloud.

Starscream glanced over at her and raised an optic curiously. “Yes,” he replied, “when you take away the normal seating arrangement, the floor and the ramps can lower and fold down to be flattened. You can see the seams of the retracting panels if you stare at the floor long enough. But how would you have known what it looked like before this?”

“I, er…” Windblade trailed off as she looked down and studied the floor for a moment, slowly tracing the faint outlines of the panels. Starscream broke her concentration with a gentle touch to her wrist.

“Windblade, let’s get to it so we can both get to our homes in time for a decent recharge.” He sighed as she focused her attention back to him.

“I assume you know traditional Cybertronian formal dancing?” he asked.

“Of course I do. We Camineans still practice it.” Windblade answered. “But there’s no band to play music for us. How are we to practice?” Windblade said with her head turned to the side in a quizzical manner. Her voice gave a slight echo across the empty room.

“Ah,” Starscream said, “our dance will be to a recording. I have a remote to start the music.”

“Why wouldn’t we be dancing to a live band?” Windblade asked as she stepped up close in front of Starscream.

“Because no one has actually performed the Empyrean Suite since before the war." Starscream said solemnly. "And I highly doubt anyone would know how to. My people haven’t had time for musical studies in millions of years.”

He started the music and gave a slight nod to Windblade, who in turn, placed her servo in his open palm and gave a slight nod back.

“I will lead, but you must keep up with me.” He said as he slid his free servo behind her lower back, just underneath her wings.

 She gently placed her free hand onto his shoulder as he stepped up as close as possible to her. The music started out low, and Starscream stepped to the right, then a slow turn to the left. The music began to grow in volume and speed, and Windblade was able to look down to keep in step with Starscream. After a few steps, she gazed upward toward her dance partner instead.

“You’re better than I expected.” He noted as he straightened his shoulders a bit. She could feel Starscream staring at her frame’s every move.

“Likewise.” She replied. “You’re very light on your feet.” She complimented as she tightened up her frame to look more regal.

 The song was beautiful, and yet extremely familiar, but Windblade had no time to enjoy it. Starscream squeezed her servo a bit as he directed her to do a full turn with him.

“You’ve clearly danced like this before.” he commented with a crooked smile on his face.

“Yes,” Windblade answered, “Practice makes perfect.”

Another round of them turning, rising, and falling perfectly in step with each other and to the music as it swelled in intensity.

“So I’m not the first dance partner you’ve ever had?” Starscream asked in a slightly disappointed tone. “Hmm- It’s a pity I won’t have the honor of claiming that title.” He added in slyly.

“No,” Windblade replied with a coy smile, “but so far you’re the best partner I’ve had in a very long time.”

 Starscream looked deep into her bright blue optics and swept her smoothly to his side and slightly dipped her, gently holding the back of her helm as he did- and then quickly pulled her back into their original hold.

“You’ll find that I’m the best at a lot of things.” He said to her with a devilish grin on his face.

 Windblade blushed as they continued to keep their gaze locked onto each other’s optics. More steps to the right as they waltzed across the entire dance floor area to the rise and fall of the notes. The huge dome echoed the beat of the music- drowning out everything else around them. They were so in-sync with each other’s footsteps, the whole room felt like it had just melted away and that time and space had stopped for Windblade and Starscream.

“I never imagined that dancing with you would be so amazing.” Starscream whispered into her audio receptor. “I feel like we’re in our own little dream together.”

Windblade could hear how loud the music had become, and when Starscream said the word ‘dream’, an eerie feeling suddenly hit her-

_This is the song from my nightmare!_ She realized as her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

She closed her optics briefly to try and concentrate on dancing, but the image of the angry, monstrous purple bot flashed across her mind.

_No- I can’t dance to this!_ She thought to herself as the she could feel all her fear burning inside her from her horrid visions.

The memory of the massive hand reaching for her made her feel like she was going to faint.

_I can’t do this!_ She screamed internally as she paused mid-step.

She momentarily forgot what she was doing, and she stiffened up in panic. Starscream sensed it- he pulled her completely up against his frame as they paused for a moment as the music was engulfing the entire room.

“No backing out on me now, Windblade.” He whispered, “Finish the song.”

The music reached a crescendo and he broke the hold to gracefully twirl her around. But Windblade He quickly caught her and pulled her up against his frame as the music came to a crashing end. But when he looked down at her, she was venting hard and her optics were frozen with fear. He held her for a moment- unsure of what to do or say.

“Windblade?” Starscream asked anxiously as he gingerly rubbed her on the back of her helm.

Windblade shook her head a bit as she snapped out of her brief panic. She glanced upward at Starscream, and instantly realized what had happened- much to her embarrassment.

“Starscream…I…” She trailed off as she blushed a bright shade of pink.

“Are you alright?” He asked. “What just happened?”

“I just… I have some… things on my mind recently and this song reminded me of them.” She said in an effort to not sound so foolish in front of Starscream.

“Oh really?” Starscream said sarcastically with a raised optic ridge. “I gathered that much.”

“I apologize for messing up the ending.” Windblade said in a rushed tone as took a step back to break away from Starscream’s hold. “Please- forgive my forgetfulness.” She said in her most polite voice as she tried to stop her lips from quivering.

“Windblade, if it was something I said to you whilst we were dancing-” Starscream began.

“No, it wasn’t you at all.” Windblade interjected, “You really are a perfect dance partner. I promise I won’t let you down tomorrow night.” She said quietly as she gave a slight bow to him.

Starscream could only stand there utterly confused with his mouth open for a bit before quickly regaining himself and slightly bowing back to her. But when he looked up, she was already gone- and the sound of her footsteps echoing around him made him realize just how alone he truly was when Windblade wasn’t around.

***

 It was twilight outside by the time Windblade walked inside Maccadam’s to meet her friends. The flight back home had been full of shame, and so many doubts filled Windblade’s head as she realized she desperately needed a drink or two.

_I can’t believe I messed up like that in front of Starscream. He probably thinks even less of me now than ever. And we were getting along so well, too._ She thought with a downcast look on her face as she plopped down on a stool at the bar.

She noticed Ironhide and Chromia weren’t there yet, and that the place was deserted.

“And why is such a gorgeous lady like you looking so glum?” Blurr said as he leaned over the counter and rested his servo under his chin. Windblade smiled. Seeing one of her friends always cheered her up-especially someone upbeat like Blurr.

“You’d be a bit glum too if you ruined a dance rehearsal with Starscream.” She said solemnly.

Blurr paused for a moment with wide optics. And then he laughed.

He laughed so hard he almost fell over.

“I’m serious! That’s really what happened.” Windblade retorted firmly.

“I’m sorry, that was- that was rude of me.” Blurr said as made a noise of clearing his throat. “Seriously though, why- how-did you end up dancing with Starscream- of all mechs- and why did he need you so urgently?” he asked as he stifled some giggles.

 Windblade told Blurr all about her explosive meeting with Starscream from the night before, her nightmare about the scary purple mech, and all about the meeting that happened earlier at his living quarters today- including the details of the party tomorrow night. Finally, after she explained what happened at the old theatre, she vented a deep sigh of relief.

“It’s extremely embarrassing to panic over a nightmare in the middle of a dance with the King of Cybertron.” Windblade said. “Especially over a made up monster-bot like the one I keep seeing. And no- Chromia knows nothing of this, and I’d like to keep it that way. Promise me you’ll keep this a secret?”

Blurr bit his lip for a moment, unsure of what to say. Windblade reached over and touched the top of his hand and looked at him with those big, sad blue optics of hers.

“Please, Blurr- don’t tell anyone about my dream, especially not Chromia! She will only snap at me and use my bad dream as an excuse to make me those awful training simulators with her more often. The bad dreams will pass, and life will forge on.”

“Windblade,” Blurr said as he pulled his servo out from under hers and finished pouring her a drink and softly handed it to her. “I need to tell you something about who you’ve been seeing in your dreams.”

“Ugh, no.” Windblade interrupted him, “I already know what you’re going to say- ‘The monster in your dream represents the fears you have about Starscream’ or some slag deep like that. Honestly, I just need to get through tomorrow without making a fool of myself in front of Starscream or the other Council members.” And she took a large swig of her drink as Blurr looked on with a smile and a bit of pity.

“No Windy,” Blurr said as he shook his head, “The mech you saw in your dreams is real. I can prove it.”

“He was a figment of my imagination due to work-related stress. He cannot be real.” She said as she downed the last bit of her drink.

He pulled out a tablet and laid it flat on the table in between him and Windblade. She looked at him with curiosity as he accessed the Autobot database of known Decepticons.

“Now, there’s a lot of mechs who are the same kind of tank build of which you recall your ‘monster’ looking like.” Blurr said as he quickly swiped right on the pad- going through pic after pic of Decepticons. “But there’s only one who has a face like you describied that could inspire absolute fear in anyone. Aha!” He suddenly stopped on one picture that Windblade could clearly see had an awful lot of purple in it.

Windblade cautiously peered down as the zoomed in picture popped up to fill the entire screen.

And she let loose a gasp.

There, staring at her with the same angry blood-red optics was the purple faced monster she had been seeing off and on all day.

“I take it this is your mech from your nightmare?” Blurr asked.

“Yes. Who is he?” Windblade asked nervously.

“That is Tarn, leader of the Decepticon Justice Division. And if you’re having nightmares about him, I’m seriously concerned for you.” Blurr explained slowly and carefully as he poured her another drink.

 Just then, Chromia and Ironhide walked in shouting out greetings to everyone, and Windblade looked toward them with apprehension written all over her face. Blurr could see she was worried what they’d think of her and her dream if they found out.

“Your secret is safe with me. I promise.” Blurr reassured her with a smile and a wink. “I may talk fast, but I don’t have loose lips.”

“Thank you.” Windblade whispered as she quickly turned the datapad off and handed it back to Blurr.

 Chromia and Ironhide strode up to the bar holding hands and wearing big smiles. Seeing them having fun and being happy together, made Windblade smile on the inside and out.

“You owe me a dance tomorrow night, then.” Blurr said with a sly grin to Windblade as Ironhide and Chromia sat down.

“A dance?” Ironhide said in a surprised tone. “I didn’t know you knew how to dance, Blurr.”

“There’s lots of things nobody knows about me.” Blurr said quietly as he poured two more drinks.

“Wait-“ Chromia said, “Is this a date for the two of you?”

“No, but apparently I now have two dance partners already lined up for tomorrow night. Perhaps I should go for three?” Windblade said with a small laugh.

“Who’s the other mech who asked you?” Chromia said curiously.

“Oh, you know- just Starscream.” Windblade answered casually as she took a sip.

Chromia’s jaw dropped wide open in shock. Windblade wished she could’ve taken a picture.

“Okay, somebody’s gotta fill me in on what’s going on tomorrow night!” Ironhide said with a laugh.

“With pleasure.” Windblade said happily as she explained all about the speech, the dance, and the music. “And best of all, you guys will be there. It will be fun!” She said with a smile.

“Yeah but I’ll be working there- how can I have any fun?” Blurr said sarcastically.

“Aw- I’ll take a turn bartending so you can dance with Windblade.” Ironhide said. “Poor girl should dance with somebody else besides that arrogant slag-head Starscream.”

Chromia and Blurr laughed, and Windblade just rolled her optics. She felt safe and happy knowing her best friends would be with her at the event to keep her company and help her relax.

_Nothing is going to ruin my chance at having fun tomorrow night. Things are finally looking better for me!_  Windblade thought to herself.

***


	7. Chapter 7

 The Peaceful Tyranny glided out of hyperspace next to one of Cybertron’s many small, deserted moons. The Decepticon Justice Division captain and leader, Tarn, had his clawed servos clasped behind his back as he stared out the main bridge’s window as they slowed down as much as possible. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind as Kaon and Vos came onto the bridge and took to their stations.

 He was slightly sore from having his t-cog replaced earlier. He was still seething about Starscream being King of Cybertron. And he was still in a foul mood from his lack of recharge last night- he kept thinking about the mysterious femme from his dream. It was a dangerous combination of emotions that left him more cold, calculating, and menacing than usual. Tarn had tried combing through the ship’s database to at least find out her name- with such distinct features, he reasoned, she should have been easy to find- but alas, no. It was damning to have her face crop up in his mind every time he wanted to unwind for a moment. Thankfully, with the ship drawing near to Cybertron he would be able to focus on formulating a plan of capturing Starscream and making him pay for claiming Cybertron as his kingdom. That title was reserved only for Megatron as far as Tarn was concerned.

“Helex, land on the nearest moon and keep the ship cloaked.” Tarn directed.

“Uh, okay boss.” Helex said. “But, I thought we would just land on Cybertron and storm up to Starscream’s door and kick his aft?”

Tarn sighed and touched the bridge of his helm. “Helex, we need to find out what we’re up against before we launch any kind of attack. Starscream could have any number of defense systems in place- or have an entire army at his command. It’s been so long since I stepped foot on Cybertron I hardly know what to expect.”

“We could take them all on- Starscream doesn’t stand a chance against us!” Tesarus said loudly as Helex shouted a cheer to his idea. Vos looked over from his workstation chair and twittered something in agreement.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm Tesarus,” Tarn said coolly, “but I would rather use the element of surprise to take Starscream down. It would be more of a fitting punishment for a treacherous, backstabbing fool like him.”

“Tarn!” Kaon called out from the workstation in the back of the room, “I’m picking up a broadcast on Cybertron that I think you’ll be interested in.” Kaon turned a large dial and the wall monitor lit up. Tarn and Vos turned toward the monitor as Helex and Tess listened in while still guiding the ship to land.

It was a news channel program, and the evening news was on. A little reporter bot was standing in front of a white building that Tarn instantly recognized from his past life on Cybertron. “That’s right, folks!” The little reporter buzzed excitedly, “Tomorrow night- yours truly, the one and only Circuit, will be right here broadcasting Starscream’s speech live to all you wonderful bots out there! And afterwards, I will be interviewing some members of the Council of Worlds, all while showing you clips of the various live musical and theatrical performances lined up for the exclusive, invite-only after-party that you’ll only see here on this channel! Up next, we have the weather report!”

“How interesting...” Tarn murmured.

“Starscream is throwing a party and didn’t invite us?” Helex spat. “The nerve of that guy!”

“What a jerk.” Tesarus added as Vos shook his head in agreement and chirped something angrily.

“Now, now-” Tarn said mockingly as he calmly held up a servo, “I’m sure there is a perfectly good reason why Starscream did not extend an invitation to us.” he paused as an idea popped into his mind. “In fact, I believe we should simply invite ourselves to this party and have a word with the King of Cybertron himself in front of everyone.”

“So… we get to crash his party?” Helex asked with a huge grin as the ship groaned to a halt on the surface of the moon.

“Indeed.” Tarn said coolly. “But first, we need to plan our entrance and gather all the firepower we will need. I am certain that once we reveal ourselves, Starscream will have some sort of army or guards he will call upon once we strike.” Tarn glanced over at his communications officer. “Kaon, I need you and Vos to take the small stealth shuttle to Cybertron and do some reconnaissance work around that building- I will upload a brief history lesson on it before you go. Since it is nighttime on most of Cybertron right now, there shouldn’t be very many bots out wandering about to see you. Be back here before morning light so we can plot out our attack plans.”

Tarn turned sharply and began to exit the bridge with his servos tucked behind his back in a brooding manner. “And of course, if anyone sees you-” he paused in his steps, “make sure you properly silence them. We wouldn’t want anyone to ruin our surprise entrance for tomorrow night, now would we?”

Vos clapped his servos in excitement and Kaon flashed a gleefully cruel smile as Tarn left the bridge.

_Now maybe I can recharge for a bit without being haunted by that femme._ Tarn thought to himself as he walked down the corridor to his personal quarters.

 His door whooshed to a close as he headed straight for his berth to stretch out on. His front room was large enough to accommodate a desk for a bot of his size and a few personal belongings. He casually glanced over at his stand where he liked to pour his drinks at.

_I’d better not drink anything too strong._ Tarn thought cautiously, _I do not need any extra hallucinations in my mind right now._

Tarn continued walking into the second room which was where his tank-sized berth was. He closed his optics and sighed heavily as he swung his pedes up onto the bed.

_I need to rest and be ready to mount an assault against Starscream and whoever else stands with him. The Decepticon cause and those loyal to it must destroy whatever empire Starscream has planned for Cybertron…_

Tarn started to doze into recharge, but he heard an all too familiar plea echo through his mind. He saw that femme’s bright blue optics again- they looked full of fear, and it disturbed him somehow. He quickly shot his own optics back open as he growled in frustration.

_Perhaps Nickel can assist me in finding a way to relax. She always knows how to make me feel better._ He thought as he walked over to his drink stand, pushed up his mask, and took a quick swig before he walked out of his room and down to the medbay.

***

 The medbay was looking particularly clean today. Nickel looked around with a pleased smile. She was proud of how spotless it was for a change. She was also delighted that the Pet was nowhere to be seen. Oh how she despised that horrid, messy thing! It was always rummaging around in filth and tracking it into her workspace. Back on her home world colony of Prion, she was known for keeping a clean clinic, and had lots of patients who praised her medical abilities.

 She stood there for a bit, reminiscing on her old home- her friends, her clinic, her whole way of life- and small tears formed in the corners of her optics. Everything had been taken away from her in an instant, and she had been helpless to stop it. She was still filled with anger over that incident, and knew she would never be able to forgive the alien scumbags who destroyed her home. More tears started to flow out of her optics. They rolled down her face as she let out a small sob. She heard a knock outside in the hall and saw the door creak open slowly.

“Nickel, are you busy at the moment?” A quiet, smooth voice asked.

“Oh- Tarn!” she said in a surprised manner. She was slightly embarrassed. She didn’t want Tarn to see her looking like this! She turned her back to the door so he couldn’t see her face.

“If you are busy working I can stop by later on…” he trailed off with a hint of sadness.

“No!” Nickel said hurriedly, “Come on in.”

 She didn’t want to agitate Tarn by turning him away. She darted over to a small cloth rag hanging over her tools and quickly began to wipe her face as she heard his large pedes walk across the medbay floor and come to a stop right behind her.

“Nickel, should I be concerned that you are using a polishing rag for tools on your faceplate?”

“N-no.” she said trying to hide how shaky her voice was. “I, I just wanted to clean my face- I must look like a hot mess from working in here all day.” She stammered.

“But you work here all day, every day. How would I know what you look like otherwise?” Tarn quipped.

 He was thankful the mask hid his grin, but Nickel wasn’t making any of her usual biting comebacks. Nickel just sighed and turned around. She gave a small frown as she looked up at him with sad blue optics. She had been crying. Tarn quietly cursed himself for being so unobservant- clearly Nickel was upset over something. He dared not ask what she was crying about- the last time he did, she didn’t speak to him for two whole days.

Instead, Tarn bent down to her level and placed a clawed servo onto her shoulder. He leaned in close to her audio receptors.

“I don’t always note your outward appearance,” Tarn whispered, “But that’s because I am blinded by how beautiful your spark is, and how brightly it shines compared to everyone else’s.”

Nickel’s frown lightened into a slight smile and her cheeks blushed a bit. “Thank you. But I know you didn’t come down here just to smooth talk to me all day.”

“And what if I did?” Tarn asked slyly. “Perhaps I was feeling lonely and desired your company.”

Nickel burst into laughter.

“Is that your way of saying you need special medical attention from me?” she asked coyly.

“You know I prefer your company over that of the rest of the crew’s.” Tarn said. “And I wasn’t referring to medical needs per se,” he said in a hushed voice as he dragged his digits slowly down her arm in a ticklish gesture and grasped her hand in his.

“I enjoy being around you. Your presence… it helps me.” He said gently.

“So, what can I help you with?” Nickel asked as she looked up into his optics. “Are you in pain from your recent t-cog replacement?”

“Yes, but that’s not really why I’m here.” Tarn replied as he squeezed her tiny servo in his, “Currently, I cannot relax or recharge. I keep having… strange dreams.” He finished.

Nickel tilted her head to the side a bit and put her small servo on his other arm. “Tell me. Is this what’s been bothering you all day?”

“Yes.” Tarn said, slightly embarrassed. And he told her all about his dream- about Starscream, the stage, and the femme.

Nickel felt bad for him- she felt terrible she had snapped at Tarn earlier in the day.

“Tarn,” she said with a sad tone in her voice, “why didn’t you tell me this when you came in here earlier today? You know I’m always here for anything you need.” She scooted in closer to Tarn to speak, but he scooped her into his arms and held her there for a moment.

Several moments passed and Nickel gave him a few gentle rubs on his treads. He gently rubbed the side of his helm against hers.

“I need you right now more than you could ever imagine.” Tarn whispered.

She couldn’t help but feel warm wrapped up in his embrace like that. It brought back all the memories of when Tarn had saved her from dying alone on her destroyed home world. Nickel didn’t want to ruin the moment, but her tiny frame was starting to hurt a bit from Tarn’s strong grip.

“Tarn, love-” Nickel said gently, “You’re sort of crushing me.”

“You know you like it when I hold you tight.” Tarn mused. “Besides, what if I don’t feel like letting you go just yet?”

“Then the least you could do is use that amazing voice of yours to persuade me to stay here and continue to be crushed in your arms.” Nickel said.

“Stay here- in the medbay?” Tarn asked with a raised optic. “I intended to invite you back to my quarters for a drink- maybe some music or dancing again. I wouldn’t want your spotless workspace all messed up again from whatever actions are about to ensue.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Nickel said sarcastically, “But I know it’s really because you don’t want the rest of the crew to walk in on us again.”

“Impromptu dance lessons are never something to be ashamed of doing.” Tarn said as he loosened up their embrace. “You were a wonderful partner despite the obvious height difference between us.”

“Helex didn’t think we were dancing though.” Nickel said with a small laugh. “He seemed to think we were doing something a bit naughtier than that.”

“That’s because his mind is always in the gutter.” Tarn replied. “Although, I must admit I thoroughly enjoy it when my mind goes there with you.”

Nickel’s face flushed a bright shade of pink as Tarn stood back up. He was being pinged on their inter-radio network. It was Helex having technical difficulties with something, and Tarn did not sound pleased. He was even less pleased about having to go back to the bridge in order to deal with the issue because his com-link reception was terrible in the medbay.

“Nickel, I am sorry I have to postpone spending time with you. But I really do feel so much better- you certainly know how to cure all of my ailments.” Tarn said smoothly as he headed for the door.

Her sad blue optics followed his hulking frame leave the medbay, and she sighed downheartedly.

“Anytime, love.” Nickel trailed off quietly as she realized she was all alone in her medbay again.

***

Windblade was in a deep, peaceful recharge. She had slept soundly all night long, with no nightmares or scary visions in her head. She was almost awake, but decided she felt too good to get up, so she continued to lay in the berth.

“Windblade!” A familiar voice said as a loud knock on her door caused her to stir out of recharge. She opened her optics slowly and her memories of the night before came flooding back to her. She remembered going drinking with her friends and coming home late, and then she recalled her dance rehearsal that went awry with Starscream and she groaned.

_I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see me again tonight._ She thought sarcastically as she stretched her arms.

“Windblade!” Chromia shouted as she banged on the door to Windblade’s room louder. “WAKE UP or you’ll be late!”

“I have all day Chromia- what’s the rush?” Windblade said as she rolled off her berth groggily and shuffled to open her door.

“DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!” Chromia shrieked as she burst into the room. She looked more polished than usual, and she even had put on some traditional face paint from Caminus. “Starscream called me a little while ago when you didn’t answer his calls- he said for you and your guests to be ready by the end of the afternoon and that he would pick us all up so we could arrive in private shuttles!”

“Oh?” Windblade asked casually with a yawn. “I wonder why he wants to do that.”

“Who cares?!” Chromia said impatiently. “Just get ready!”

_Surely Chromia is just overreacting._  Windblade thought to herself. _I bet it’s still morning_ outside.

“Here, I’ll help get some light in here so you can see!” Chromia said as she darted over to the giant windows and pulled open Windblade’s grey blinds- and the afternoon sun came shining in.

“Oh scrap.” Windblade whispered. “I overslept!” she said in a horrified voice.

“Yes and no.” Chromia replied. “If you hurry and get ready, he won’t know the difference. I assume the shuttle we’re going to take is a super-fast mode of transportation.”

“I was planning on changing my face paint for tonight-” Windblade started to say.

“It’s too late for that!” Chromia interjected. “Besides, I don’t think Starscream will care if you have the same makeup on- I doubt he’d even notice if you did change it.”

“Yes,” Windblade sighed, “I suppose he wouldn’t notice, would he?”

“Of course not.” Chromia huffed. “He doesn’t notice stuff like that about anyone else. He’s too busy thinking about how he looks. He’s probably fawning over himself in a mirror right now and blowing kisses at his reflection.”

Windblade giggled as she headed into the washroom to polish herself up a bit and touch up her face paint. “I bet Ironhide will notice how lovely you look Chromia- you did a great job on your face paint markings.” Windblade said.

Chromia smiled. “Thanks. I’m not as good at it as you are, but you were always more artistic than I was back home.”

“Oh Chromia, it was just something I was more interested in than you were. I’m certainly never going to be a famous poet, musician, or dancer.” Windblade said as she slicked up her helm to make the gold parts extra shiny.

“You should be one of those things.” Chromia said. “Then you wouldn’t have to put up with Starscream, and the public would appreciate you instead of worshipping an unstable egomaniac like him.”

“But I love my Cityspeaker job. That’s why I have to work hard to reach compromises with Starscream. I keep him in check, and his deviousness keeps me motivated to stop his scheming. We balance each other out fairly well, I suppose.”

“I will never understand how the two of you can make that work.” Chromia said flatly as Windblade came out of the washroom and grabbed her favorite cape before they both headed out their apartment door. Ironhide was waiting outside their building as they came down the stairs.

“Hello ladies- you both look very pretty for tonight.” And he gave a slight bow to them as Chromia flashed a smile as she slipped her hand into his.

“So who was the third person you invited?” Ironhide asked. “Cause Blurr is already there finishing settin up for the after-party.”

“Yeah and I saw on the news that Sky-Byte was listed as one of the ‘performers’ tonight. Primus help us all if he decides to read all his haikus for an hour. I will lose my cool and start breaking things.” Chromia said grudgingly.

“I invited Waspinator.” Windblade said earnestly.

Chromia stopped dead in her tracks and gave a frown. “That loser? Why did you send a last minute invite to him?”

“He is not a loser.” Windblade said firmly. “He helped me when I needed it most when Starscream was mining deep inside Metroplex awhile back. He risked his life to provide information to me because I showed him kindness. He needs some friends who treat him decently, and even he deserves to have a bit of fun. I thought it would be a good social experience for him. And I invited him last night- it wasn’t a last minute decision at all.”

Chromia just stood there frowning for a minute as Waspinator flew up to greet them.

“Hi Metroplex lady, and her friendzzzz!” he buzzed happily. “Waspinator is sooo excited! Waspinator never gets invited to fancy thingzzz like this!” Windblade warmly greeted the insect-former with a small hug.

“I wonder why.” Chromia hissed as she leaned in close to Ironhide. “Primus shoot me. He’s already annoying me.” Chromia grumbled as Ironhide gave a small chuckle as he patted her hand.

 A shadow fell over them and two shuttles were hovering above, one was slightly smaller and shone bright metallic-silver and the other had a larger passenger area and was all white. The white one quickly landed right next to where they were standing. The side hatch of the white one popped open first and Rattrap poked his head out.

“This shuttle is reserved for the guests of Windblade and Starscream. He wants a private ride with Miss Windblade. Besides, we have to park in a separate area when we get there, so you guys won’t see her til later on.”

“Well, I hope you all have some fun tonight until I can catch up with you later on!” Windblade said as her three friends said their goodbyes to her quickly and walked in the shuttle.

 She watched them take off- and a strange feeling washed over her, like she’d never see them again. A dark, icy feeling of terror gripped her whole frame, and she froze for a moment as the shuttle took off. The frightening face of Tarn flashed violently across her mind and she gave a small gasp.

_Oh no- not now! I can’t have another panic attack over my nightmare now!_

She blinked as the shuttle carrying her friends disappeared into the clouds and the cold feeling ebbed away as quickly as it came. She shook her head slightly and cautiously boarded the silver shuttle as the fiery orange sun began to set in the distance.

***


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has commented on this- I am forever grateful to hear such kind and encouraging words about my story. The past few months of my life took an unexpected turn for the worse, and it's been difficult to bounce back into writing- which explains why it took so long to update. But I promise I will finish this story soon enough ;)

Windblade felt a bit nervous as she stepped inside the silver shuttle. She knew her intuition was trying to tell her something, but she knew she couldn’t show any qualms about it in front of Starscream. Especially not tonight- he would just think of her as another weak minded bot, and she did not want to look that way in front of him, or in front of the Council of Worlds members. She gave a small sigh and gently held up the edges of her brilliant-blue cape as she stepped further inside.

“Ah Windblade!” a familiar nasally voice greeted her from the dimly lit seating in the back of the shuttle. “Come in and have a seat next to the star of the evening!” Windblade rolled her optics a bit at his boasting, but obliged at Starscream’s request.

The inside of the shuttle had slick black tiles on the floor, and the walls shone a dark metallic grey. A sleek white bench curved around the entire back wall in between the windows on both sides of the shuttle- and there was Starscream, sitting dead center of the seat in all his shiny, polished glory. He looked so refined and regal with his gold, pointed crown on and his famous purple cape flowing around him. He gently motioned for Windblade to take a seat next to him. And even she had to admit that the wide, cocky grin on his face made him look very handsome indeed.

“Good evening, Lord Starscream.” Windblade said in her most polite and formal voice as she gave a nod of respect to him with her head. She was hoping it would hide how worried she was about the other shuttle carrying her friends.

“Ah, there’s no need for formalities just yet.” Starscream said dismissively. “For now, you and I can just… relax.” He said as he stretched his arms behind his head and glanced over at Windblade as she sat down.

“Isn’t this better than flying there ourselves?” he asked. “It’s so much more fuel efficient, and it makes for a much grander entrance for my public. And with Barricade behind the wheel, I have extra security measures in place for us- just in case the crowd gets too excited by my presence.”

“Yes, this is much better...” Windblade agreed absentmindedly as she stared out the window, her mind was drifting back to her friends.

 _I hope they’re okay._ She thought to herself. _I hope that nothing bad happened to them on their way. I hope my nightmare about Tarn doesn’t flare up again tonight._

“You know what would make this flight even better?” Starscream interrupted in a low tone as he folded down a hidden panel in the back wall. “Some high-grade energon that’s just for us.” He said as he pulled out two tall, thin drinking glasses and held them both with one hand as he reached in and grabbed a crystal decanter with his other hand. He quickly filled up both glasses and then set the decanter back in the wall.

“You look like you need a drink to loosen up, Cityspeaker.” He said with a smirk as he handed the glass to Windblade.

“Thank you, sir.” Windblade said cautiously as she accepted the drink.

“A toast for good luck on this very fine evening!” Starscream proclaimed as he clinked his glass up against hers. She raised the glass to her lips and took a very tiny sip. Starscream watched her closely.

“It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Starscream said bluntly as he tipped his helm back and took a deep swig from his glass, almost emptying it in one gulp.

“I would never think that Starscream- I, I was, er- just being careful not to spill anything on my cape.” Windblade stammered.

“You’re a terrible liar. Remind me to give you a lesson in dishonesty sometime.” Starscream said as he looked inside his glass and swished around the last bit before downing it quickly.

“No really.” Windblade insisted. “I’m clumsy sometimes, and I want to look my best tonight-”

“No, Windblade.” Starscream said, cutting her off. He turned to put his glass back on the shelf with a loud plink. He flashed a sly smirk as he leaned in uncomfortably close to her. “You may think you can hide things from me, but I can read you pretty clearly.” He whispered. “You’re clearly afraid of something.”

Windblade’s optics widened a bit with worry as she clutched her glass tighter with both hands. Had Starscream found out about her recent nightmares somehow?

“Afraid of what?” Windblade asked in an equally quiet whisper as Starscream was mere inches away from her face.

“You’re afraid of getting too close to me.” He replied in a hushed tone.

“But I’m sitting right next to you.” She answered flatly.

Starscream gave a small chuckle as he gently put his hand just above her knee and put his face up against her audio receptors. “Oh Windblade, your innocence is absolutely charming.” He said in a dark tone. “Just like the rest of you…” he trailed off as he slid his servo further up the outside of her leg up to her hip. Windblade gave a small gasp as she let her drink slip through her digits, but Starscream didn’t miss a beat and smoothly reached up and caught the bottom of it. He gave a slick smile as he looked at her.

“I told you I was clumsy sometimes.” Windblade said as their optics met.

“It’s a good thing I have such quick reflexes then.” Starscream quipped as he offered the glass back to Windblade. She politely nodded a silent no.

 _What’s gotten into Starscream?_   Windblade thought as she looked at him with a mix of interest and complete disgust.

“Ah, what a pity-more for me I suppose.” He said coolly. He downed the drink and then placed the glass back into its original storing place.

 _He’s drunk and on an ego trip, that’s what he is_. She thought to herself as she scooted away ever so slightly- hoping that Starscream would come to his senses, and that they would reach their destination soon. She didn’t want the situation to become worse.

"Now, where was I?” he asked with a grin as he started to lean toward her. But before she could open her mouth to reply, a burst of static filled the room. Starscream bolted upright, clearly jarred by the loud noise.

“Lord Starscream,” the voice of Barricade rang out over the intercom, “We are within moments of our destination. I advise you and Windblade to brace yourselves- a strong wind is blowing outside and it could be a turbulent landing.”

“Oh please.” Starscream muttered with an annoyed look on his face. “I hardly think a little breeze will cause any trouble.”

Just then the shuttle gave a sudden shake and groaned loudly, and Starscream and Windblade were tossed around as they felt the shuttle descending. Starscream loudly shouted an obscenity as Windblade slid hard into his chestplate- knocking his back into the window, which knocked his crown clean off. It clanged loudly on the floor tiles.

“Oh Starscream, I’m so sorry!” she said in earnest embarrassment as Starscream grumbled something and tried to push both of them upright to reach his crown, but the shuttle shook violently again- tipping the passengers to the other side of the ship. Windblade braced herself as she felt Starscream land on top of her and they both fell onto the floor. Another loud banging noise vibrated through the shuttle as they felt the tremor of the engine being turned off. Starscream and Windblade both looked around for a moment, half expecting the ship to shake, rattle, and roll again.

“That wasn’t as smooth as I would’ve preferred.” Windblade said.

“I rather enjoyed the excitement.” Starscream said with a grin. “After all, I ended up as the one on top.” He snickered as he tried to get up- but he quickly frowned the moment he realized he was stuck.

He grabbed Windblade’s shoulders and jerked his body upward and felt her move in time with him. “I can’t move… I’m stuck!” He said impatiently as he reached down and felt his cape was tangled up underneath Windblade’s legs. “That door is going to open any minute and everyone will see us in this very questionable position!” he sputtered.

The level of panic in his voice was priceless, and Windblade secretly hoped the door would fly open if only to embarrass Starscream a tiny bit.

“Just hold still, I can get us separated.” Windblade said as she gripped Starscream’s shoulders and tried to pull out one of her legs. Her cape was pinned under his pedes and she couldn’t get up either. “Although, just a few moments ago you seemed like you would’ve given anything to be in this position with me.”

Starscream scowled and growled as he tried to squirm his way free. “Well now we have to act a bit more professional in front of everyone. We can’t have my subjects thinking that you and I are anything more than cordial coworkers. But I’m more than happy to keep having private, intimate moments like this with you in secret.” he chuckled with a slick grin as he watched Windblade continue to struggle out from under him.

Windblade narrowed her optics at him in disgust and ‘accidently’ jerked her knee into him. “Oops,” Windblade said as she saw him wince, “how clumsy of me.” she said nonchalantly.

“You did that on purpose-” Starscream started to hiss but he was promptly cut off.

“Sir,” Barricade’s voice called out on the intercom, “we’re here. I’m opening up the door so you can both exit, but it looks like there is a crowd of bots waiting for you.”

Starscream gasped in horror as the door clicked ready to unlock, but Windblade instantly knew what to do. She moved with lightning fast speed as she reached up to Starscream’s neck and unclasped his cape, and then her own. She pushed up hard on him, and he shot up off the floor. He snapped out of his panic and reached a servo down to help smoothly lift Windblade up and off the floor. As Starscream quickly picked up his cape and swirled it back around him, Windblade picked up her own cape and did the same. She then bent down and grabbed his crown and hastily put it on his head, but it was still a tad crooked. Starscream’s servo reached up to fix it at the same time she did, and their digits met each other’s on the edge of his crown. He stared at her for a moment as Windblade gently pushed his crown perfectly back into place just as the door whooshed open to a loud round of applause and a blinding array of camera lights going off.

They stood there for a moment, digits overlapping each other’s and still staring at each other as they both gave a sigh of relief.

“We work well together under pressure, don’t we Starscream?” Windblade said with a smile as she gracefully pulled her servos away from his and smoothed down the sides of her brilliant blue cape.

“So it seems… thank you, Cityspeaker.” Starscream replied in a soft tone to her. He turned to the door and gave a polite wave to the crowd, and with a handsome smile on his face, he stepped forward a bit to greet his public. Windblade took one step out onto the ramp when she felt a chill run down her wings and a sudden, violent vision of Tarn flashed through her mind. Her wings drooped down a bit and then her whole body frame froze up in fear.

 _No- not now!_ She thought as she closed her optics and relived part of her nightmare again.

She saw Starscream strapped in that horrid looking chair, jolting abruptly from being electrocuted. A tight knot of anxiety was growing inside her as she continued to relive part of her nightmare. She felt like she was going to faint until she felt something grab ahold of her arm.

“Windblade,” A familiar nasally voice said. “Are you alright? Do I need to call for a medic?”

She opened her optics with a startled gasp. Starscream was standing next to her with a concerned frown on his face. He smoothly linked his arm under hers and tugged at her to keep walking down the ramp. Windblade gave a small shudder and quickly straightened her posture and continued on.

“No, I’m quite alright.” She lied as she glanced down at where Starscream was holding her arm. “It’s just my nerves getting the best of me, I’m afraid.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” Starscream said in a low tone as he continued to wave to the crowd.

Thankfully Windblade didn’t have to continue the conversation because Barricade was trying to part the enthusiastic crowd by growling at bots to “make way for Lord Starscream” while trying to usher him and Windblade across the street safely. He stopped traffic momentarily so they could cross first. She was surprised to see how much busier the street was compared to what it looked like the first time she’d seen it.

There were bots of all shapes and sizes walking alongside the street all polished up- laughing and smiling while taking pictures of each other and the building. Large vehicles were driving by towing sightseers in flatbeds- trying to catch of glimpse of the event. The whole block was lit up and vibrant, and it made Windblade’s spark feel happy to see a more upbeat version of Cybertron. Windblade smiled and tried to relax as Starscream kept a steady walking pace beside her. His arm was still linked with hers as they walked up the steps toward the main entrance. There was a large welcome banner above the door and beautiful orange and pink orb-like lanterns attached to cables and anchored by circular weights were gently floating all around.

“Ah, now this is how I remember Cybertron.” Starscream said proudly. “It’s been a long time since anything so fine happened here. Well, except for me becoming leader.” Windblade had to stifle a snicker at his boasting by turning her head away.

Another strong wind kicked up, and she watched as a lantern had popped loose from its cable and blew upwards. As she looked, she had another strange sensation wash over her, one as though she was being watched. She stopped abruptly and continued to look up at the domed roof where the lantern had just passed and tried to peer into the darkness. She felt like whoever was staring at her was burning a hole through her with their anger, and she felt her spark flutter with panic.

“Windblade- what are you-” Starscream sputtered, but Windblade shushed him and pointed up to the roof and an awkward silence fell over her and Starscream.

“I think someone is up there!” She blurted out as she saw a dark shadow glide by. She had the odd feeling she had seen part of the outline before, but it had moved too fast for her to be able place it in her mind.

Starscream squinted upward in annoyance as she tried to define the outline of the mysterious onlooker with her own optics. Windblade waited on edge for a moment waiting for him to validate her concerns.

Instead he shook his head a bit and chuckled. “Oh Windblade, you really had me going there for a moment!” He nudged her in the side with his elbow in a joking manner. “Clearly if someone was up there, they would’ve gladly made their presence known to their beloved leader. Now, if you please- let us go inside so I can make my speech. And after that we can fully enjoy ourselves tonight.”

“Yes…” Windblade said quietly as she continued to walk, “let’s go inside for some fun.”

She knew she had seen someone or something up there- but who, or what?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken me awhile to upload. I went through a massive re-edit for the ending since the identity of Tarn was revealed in the comics and I totally had it wrong X( Oh scrap!  
> On the flipside, if anyone is still reading or following this story, you are my hero. I wanted to give up because of personal family issues but all the positive comments I recieved on this fic brought me to tears (in a good way).  
> *****

 The last wisps of sunlight swirled at the bottom of an inky black sky, and a lanky shadow skitted by on the beautiful domed rooftop that was silhouetted by starlight. It was trying to catch up to a much larger, hulking mass of darkness that was crouched behind a wall of spires at the base of the glittering golden dome.

“That was too close of a call for my liking.” Kaon said as he gave a small sparkle of electricity. He quickly unpacked a metal briefcase with two large, square explosive charges inside and put them next to the two that were already in place.

“That was indeed too close. Our positions were almost exposed.” A smooth, rich voice cautioned as his optics flared a bit with irritation. Tarn’s plan relied heavily on the element of surprise, and if one of his team blew their cover, it would ruin everything.

“That was the last of the charges to be on our side of the roof, sir.” Kaon said solemnly.

“Kaon, please comm Tesarus and Helex about their current progress. I need a moment to collect my thoughts before we progress on our mission.”

“As you wish, sir.” Kaon replied dutifully as he carried on.

 Tarn was seething with raw anger toward Starscream, whom he had just seen go inside. But he was filled with an absolute burning rage at seeing Starscream stroll in with the very femme who had been consuming his thoughts as of late. He was also grappling with the fact that the femme was in fact, very real and not just a figment of his imagination.

 _She must be someone important to him if he came here with her- his personal assassin, or bodyguard perhaps?_   Tarn thought to himself as Kaon gave the signal that Helex and Tesarus were in position.

 _No-_ he continued to think _, she is too pretty and poised to be one of those things. She must be something more personal than that to him..._

He recalled the desperate tone of her voice when she was pleading for him to stop hurting him in the dream. No one in their right processor would want to save a scumbag like Starscream- he never had anyone who was genuinely friends with him within the Decepticon army, and even his own trine-mates hated him.

 _Clearly something more is going on between those two than just a professional relationship._ Tarn thought. _If that’s the case, capturing her will be equally important._

Tarn gave a cruel smile underneath his mask at a sudden realization. He knew now that his dream had been trying to tell him something all along. _I wouldn’t have pegged Starscream to fancy anyone other than himself, but I will see to it that she will be his undoing._ He thought to himself with a chuckle as a ping rang over his comm line.

“Sir,” Kaon said quietly, “Nickel and Vos are inside the building. She is awaiting further instructions from you.”

Truthfully, he was a bit nervous having Nickel accompany them on this mission. But he needed an operative inside the building, and her and Vos were the only two bots that would be unrecognizable as DJD members to most Cybertronians. He had faith in her abilities; he was just concerned for her safety should she be discovered. But he’d certainly never admit those concerns to her face. She wouldn’t appreciate him fussing over her safety anyway.

“I’ll speak with her directly.” Tarn said coolly.

***

 Nickel looked around the ginormous, glittery domed room. She’d never seen any building look so absolutely magical in all her life. Sophisticated looking crowds huddled here and there while politely sipping on glasses of energon, and soft music floated through the air. Vos had a purple cloak draped over one shoulder plate in order to conceal some of his gun mode parts, and Nickel had shined herself up quite nicely. They had already been there for a good half hour or so, waiting for Starscream to show up. She was surprised to see that security was rather lax, and that the chatty guards at the door hadn’t even bothered to ask for their proof of identification.

 She was also grateful they didn’t pat either of them down at the door- Vos was packing quite a few grenades for the evening ahead, and Nickel was worried Vos would have lost his temper had they been discovered. Still, none of that made her feel any less uncomfortable about being on the mission. She secretly hoped one day to be out in the field with her crew, but not quite like this. She really wished Tarn would chime in on the comm and give her some direction.

 Anxiety was starting to bubble up inside her, and she began to fidget a little. Vos could see the minibot was starting to become stressed, so he gently tapped her on the helm and gestured toward the wall on his left, next to the main entrance. It was a more shadowy area of the room, unoccupied, and farther away from the drinking stand.

“I suppose we could quietly watch everyone come in from there. Good idea.” Nickel said in a hushed tone.

 She didn’t want to speak too loud for fear of being overheard. Just as her and Vos made their way over to the wall, her comm line pinged.

“Nickel,” Tarn’s melodious voice rang in, “relay your current position and whether or not you have a visual on our target.” Hearing Tarn’s smooth voice swim through her audials brought a wave of relief that washed over her whole frame.

“I’m next to the entrance.” She replied. “But there’s still no sign of Starscream.”

“How odd.” Tarn mused. “I saw him arrive and strut inside just a moment ago. He was with a certain… femme.” Tarn snarled.

“Well, what does she look like? Maybe I can spot her.” Nickel commented impatiently.

She was trying to peek around the edge of the main entrance door without looking strange. Thankfully no one seemed to notice the little bot or her silent friend who was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. She could hear voices coming down the great hallway, but the lights were dimmed too low to see all the entire length of the room properly.

“She’s… well, the one I saw in my dream. She’s real, Nickel.” Tarn said flatly.

A pause of silence over the comm line passed, and Nickel wasn’t quite sure what to say. She looked away from the darkened hallway and down toward the floor for just a moment before glancing back up again.

“Oh Tarn, I- I didn’t realize that’s who you meant at first…” Nickel started to respond, but she stopped in mid thought.

 There, striding proudly down the hall with one of the most beautiful femmes Nickel had ever seen, was Starscream himself. Nickel let out a small gasp; he was halfway to where she and Vos were standing! She quickly ducked out of sight and motioned to Vos that Starscream was coming.

“Target acquired!” She said in a low but frantic tone over the comm.

“Perfect.” Tarn purred. “We’re still on schedule.”

“Oh no!” Nickel said hurriedly, “He’s stopped in the hall- two Autobots are greeting them. Should I attempt to keep anyone else from stopping him from reaching the stage?”

“Keep him in your sights, but stay out of his way.” Tarn warned. “I’ll check back on you when we are completely finished setting all the explosive charges up here.”

“But what if-” she started to nervously sputter.

“Nickel!” Tarn interjected. “Stay close to Vos, and don’t let Starscream suspect anything is afoot!” Tarn said crossly. “Timing is everything tonight!”

He paused and lowered his tone to a more gentle volume. “But promise me you will exit the building immediately if your part of the mission fails. Because if it does fail, I have a backup plan to make things take a more drastic turn.” The tone of his voice was filled with viciousness at that last bit.

“I will, I will.” She said with a dismissive sigh.

“Please Nickel,” Tarn said solemnly, “I mean it. I don’t know what I would do if something were to ever happen to you.” And with that, he hung up on his end of the comm.

“I know, love.” Nickel sighed with a half-smile as she waited patiently for Starscream to pass by at any moment.

***

 Starscream and Windblade continued walking inside- they were halfway down the hall when Chromia ran up to her and hugged her tightly. Starscream let go of Windblade’s arm with an irritated sigh and nodded to Ironhide who was trailing behind Chromia.

“I was worried you and flyboy over there were gonna ditch this whole party.” Chromia said as she let go of her. “The ride here was absolute hell.”

“Our ride was, um, ah- interesting.” Windblade said. Starscream had heard her and the corner of his mouth upturned into a smirk. “The rough landing didn’t help.” She quickly added, in a slightly embarrassed tone.

“Oh please.” Chromia frowned. “I was about to rip off one of Waspinator’s wings and beat Rattrap with it. Those two did not shut up the entire time.”

Windblade bit her lower lip and stifled a small laugh. Starscream frowned and rolled his optics.

“Windblade,” Starscream stated in his nasally formal voice, “we don’t have much time for chit-chat. I need to get up on that stage soon.”

“Of course,” Windblade said stiffly to Starscream. She turned to Chromia and whispered, “I promise I’ll talk to you and the others as soon as I can.”

Chromia winked at her. “Go do your thing, Cityspeaker. I’ve got your back.”

Starscream gestured for Windblade to link her arm under his right side and together they proceeded to walk onward.

“I just hope Starscream doesn’t stab you in it.” She whispered with a most worried expression on her face as she continued to watch Windblade walk on until the dimness of the hallway swallowed the last bit of her blue cape up.

***

 A cold shiver ran down Windblade’s whole frame as her and Starscream stepped through the doorframe and into the grand domed room. Most of the bots in the room broke into a round of applause a tthe sight of Starscream, and many members of the crowd raised their drinking glasses and gave polite cheers. Starscream paused for a moment to wave to his adoring fans, and she could see flashes of light as some bots were snapping photos of them. She could feel all the optics in the room staring at the two of them and it made her feel slightly overwhelmed.

But she also felt a harsh glare burning from the corner of her right optic. Against her better judgment, she turned her head enough to see a shiny, teal minibot fiercely glowering at her.

Not at Starscream, just at her.

 The sheer intensity Windblade felt from that stare was enough to make her feel faint. And for a moment, Windblade felt helplessly trapped between the ire of this stranger and the pomp of Starscream. She felt a growing sense of dread. Something about the minibot’s very presence in the room just didn’t sit right with Windblade.

All in the blink of an optic, the moment passed.

 Windblade turned her head to watch the crowd naturally part for Starscream to be able to walk through, and when she turned back to look at the stranger, the minibot was gone! As her and Starscream stepped closer toward the stage, she scanned the crowd trying to find the minibot. Starscream noticed she looked distant and distracted by something so he tugged her a bit closer to his side. He leaned his head to the side a bit, closer to her audials.

“You should smile a bit more. Perhaps say something- or at least wave to the crowd. I feel like I’m promenading with a corpse.” He hissed in annoyance.

“Something isn’t right.” Windblade whispered back. “I had a very unpleasant looking minibot staring at me a moment ago.”

“They’re just jealous.” Starscream said flippantly. “Anyone in your position tonight would be.”

“No,” Windblade replied in a serious tone, “that little bot is up to something...”

“Honestly Windblade, I don’t care whatever it is you’re so worried about. Do you even know how lucky you are tonight?!” Starscream said hastily with an agitated tone as they climbed the steps to the stage. The crowd was still clapping and cheering, unaware of the verbal exchange going on between Starscream and Windblade. The unhappy couple stopped in the centre of the stage, standing behind the dropped curtain for a bit to let the crowd quiet down.

Rattrap was already waiting impatiently behind the curtain on the stage for them. “What took you two so long to get up here?” he grumbled with his arms crossed and a sour expression across his face.

“Nothing that would be of interest you.” Starscream replied crossly. “Now go out there and tell the crowd to quiet down before you give me that proper introduction I wrote for you earlier.”

“Sure thing boss.” Rattrap said as he lifted up the bottom of the curtain and shuffled onto the stage.

 Starscream unhooked his arm from underneath hers and roughly gripped her on the shoulder while he leaned in uncomfortably close to her.

“I could have picked anyone on Cybertron to be at my side for this event- anyone! And I chose you. This whole event- the one that you so persistently wanted- wouldn’t even be possible without me! So, either you start showing me some gratitude for all of this, or I will accidently let some dirty little secrets about you slip out while I’m speaking on stage.” He dug his digits into her shoulder harder and gave a devilish smile.

Windblade’s mouth dropped open in a mix of shock and disgust. “I have no secrets- I’m not a blackmailing schemer like you.”

“Ah, but as I recall, you agreed to take the fall for your murderous friend Chromia awhile back. I’d imagine my adoring public wouldn’t find you so sweet and innocent after knowing you prefer the company of such a hot-tempered, low-life grunt like her.” Starscream’s mouth curled up as he replied.

“She’s my best friend,” Windblade growled back. “and twice the bot you’ll ever hope to be.”

 Starscream gave a snarl and pushed her away from him. “Then I suggest you go join her and the other riff-raff you enjoy being with for the rest of the evening! I’m sure your bartender buddy Blurr will let you drown your sorrows into his open arms.”

“I do not drown my sorrows into anyone’s arms!” Windblade retorted.

“Oh?” Starscream said bitterly, “Well then, I’m pretty sure Waspinator would gladly comfort you tonight. You seem to be attracted to bots who are hopeless losers.”

“Is that why I’m stuck working with you on Cybertron?” Windblade quipped.

“You work for me.” Starscream growled between gritted teeth. “As in, you will do what I say, when I say! Now stop working against me and just smile and nod next to me like a good little bot out there. And to think I spent my whole day looking forward to dancing with you tonight.”

“Why do you even need me up here on stage tonight?” Windblade asked angrily. “One minute you can’t stand me and you try to force me to bend to your every whim, and the next moment you’re acting like I mean something to you and you want to spend time with me! Make up your mind on what you want me to be to you!”

“Perhaps you should make up your mind on what you want to be to me- my ally or my enemy!” Starscream snapped back.

“This silly argument again?!” Windblade fumed. “Honestly Starscream, what is it going to take for you to see I’m on the same side as you! I want to fix Cybertron and Metroplex! I am not here to ruin your life or try to overthrow you. I want things to go right tonight. And I want us to be friends.”

“That’s not true.” Starscream said coldly. “I have no friends. I am surrounded by backstabbers, liars, suck-ups, and usurpers.”

“Just because that’s what your personality is like, it doesn’t mean everyone else is like that!" Windblade countered back.

“Then prove me wrong, Windblade.” Starscream said as he stepped directly in front of her face.

“I already have, on numerous occasions I might add!” she replied firmly as she met his glare with an equally fiery stare. Neither one of them broke their intense stare to notice that the stage curtain started to rise.

“Prove your loyalty to me.” Starscream said coldly. “Stay by my side all night instead of running off with your friends.”

“No. I made a promise to them after we made our arrangements. I won’t go back on my word to spend time with them just because you’re jealous.”

Rattrap quickly shuffled a few steps backwards and managed to make Windblade and Starscream both snap out of their stare-down. “Eh, I hate to break this up, but can you guys just-”

“Shut up, Rattrap.” They said in unison as they both straightened up and turned forward to face the crowd.

***


End file.
